


Project Outbreak.

by ZanScull



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), Resident Evil, Resident Evil - All Media Types, Resident Evil Outbreak - Fandom, Resident Evil Project Resistance
Genre: Awkward Dates, Awkward Romance, Bio Organic Weapons | B.O.W.s, Bisexual Male Character, Blow Jobs, F/M, Fear of Death, First Time, Found Family, Fucking, Gay Sex, Jock/Nerd, Kinks, M/M, Mastermind, Minor Character Death, Monsters, Near Death Experiences, Original Character Death(s), Resident evil Outbreak Locations, Resident evil project resistance/Outbreak crossover, Survival, Trapped, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:40:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 104,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23734768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZanScull/pseuds/ZanScull
Summary: When the group finally escapes the testing facility they are met with new problems, Sam wants to escape the city alive along with his new friends, keeping them safe is his number one priority, especially a certain mechanic.The six of them find themselves in all sorts of new situations that bring just as much danger as the tests they were forced to endure for so long.
Relationships: Samuel Jordan/Martin Sandwich, Tyrone Henry/Becca Woolett
Comments: 12
Kudos: 18





	1. Project Escape

**Author's Note:**

> A crossover between the Project Resistance crew and some the scenarios from the Outbreak series.

"Well done, this test has proven most wonderful data, I look forward to the next one." Alex cooed over the intercom as the group stood in the elevator leading down to the quarters that test subjects were expected to stay in, though they were little more than cages at this point. "Whew everyone okay?" Becca asked wiping her brow. "Okay is a bit of a stretch, but hey not dead so... That's something." January said checking herself over. The group of six waited as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. "Ah cell sweet cell." Martin said bitterly as he rubbed the back of his neck. It was a large room with solid white walls and six doors leading to their respected rooms, a single large table in the middle of the room, the far end of the room had a another door leading to a single shower, cameras in almost every corner. "Man I'm starving." Sam said as he walked over to where food was left every time they had completed a test. One time they refused to be a part of the horrifying test and were cut off from food for three days. Reluctantly they agreed to do the tests from then on.

Sam watched as the others grabbed trays of the disgusting food that no doubt had some other nightmare drug their captors were testing in it, he wouldn't be surprised if he woke up someday and saw that he had turned into some kind of monster. He shivered. "No can't think like that gotta find a way out of here." He took a bite of the grey gruel in front of him. "Hey Sam." He looked up and saw Becca sit down next to him. He liked Becca, she was nice and a hell of a shot. "Wassup?" Sam asked in between chews. "Just wanted to see how you're holdin up. It was a close one this time." She said with a sad smile. Sam knew that this was taking a toll on everyone, himself included. A little over two months ago he had been abducted and taken from his everyday life and forced to partake in these tests against monsters and the walking dead. And none of them knew why, The people behind the cameras would just babble about research and more tests. Sam let out a sigh. "Just tired of this shit, ya'know?" He looked at the others. Tyrone held his head in his hands crouched down looking at the ground, Valerie was off at the end of the table just poking her food with a fork, January was eating while visibly showing her distaste for the goop on her tray, Martin was fiddling with some parts he took from some of the machinery they ran past during the test.

Sam's gaze stayed on Martin for a moment, The kid wasn't much younger than Sam and everyone treated him as the dorky younger brother, but lately Sam couldn't help but keep watching for longer and when they split up to solve puzzles in the tests he tried to stay near by at first he convinced himself it was just coincidence then that he was just making sure Martin was safe, now he wasn't sure. "Uh Sam?" Becca waved a hand in front of the ex-boxer's face catching him off guard. "Huh wha?" He looked at her, she had a confused look on her face. "You were staring off into space there for a second, you alright?" She looked over her shoulder to see what Sam had been looking at then turned back a sly grin on her face. "Ah I see." She said and Sam raised an eyebrow. "See what?" He asked and Becca let out a laugh. "You got yer eye on our little mechanic don'tcha?" Sam looked at her still confused. "Not really following- Oh... Oh no way!" He said as it finally clicked and Becca laughed again. "C'mon sugar, that explains why you've been following him 'round so much lately." She said in her southern drawl that before Sam had found charming now that it was teasing him he'd prefer she just stop talking. "I haven't been following him, besides he's a guy and I'm a guy, who likes chicks I'll add." He said and Becca just raised an eyebrow "Like two guys likin each other is our biggest issue here." She said dryly but then turned her head to look just past Sam and smiled. "Hey sugar pull up a seat." She said and Sam saw Tyrone sit down next to him without looking over. "Hey guys, whatcha laughing about?" He asked with a sad look in his eyes. Sam looked at Becca wide-eyed in a slight panic. she just smiled. "Old flames, first dates... Bad dates." She said without missing a beat and Tyrone smiled. "Really any good stories?" And Becca straightened up. "Oh definitely, I was just telling Sammy here about this one guy I dated who brought his brother with him, and actually asked me if which I'd rather marry. First date mind you." Sam listened to Becca's story and actually found himself smiling at how bad it sounded.

After a while of the others came over to listen and then everyone started talking about bad dates they had in the past. Everyone started to listen to each other's miserable dates the mood shifted greatly as everyone had smiles and occasional laughs. "This may come off as a surprise." January started as she held up her hands. "But I was actually the bad first date." She said and there were some exaggerated gasps and January flipped off the table but kept going with a smile. "Yeah so before the date even started the guy opens the door to the bar and I think out loud, you know like an idiot, I say 'Nice manners for a guy who looks like shit.' He just left me at the bar right there all I could think was 'Yeah that's fair.'" Everyone laughed at that Sam could just imagine it. "So this one time I went out with a guy." Valerie started. "And I forgot his name!" She said covering her face as she smiled. "I spent the whole night calling him bro, dude, and champ." Sam choked on his food. "Champ?" He asked and Valerie just buried her face deeper into her hands as she laughed. "Why didn't you just ask him?" Martin chuckled. "I don't know! I panicked!" She said smiling. Sam watched as everyone laughed and teased who ever shared a tale of woe. Martin talked about how he made out with a girl then she immediately cut off a lock of his hair said if he cheated on her she would know. And Tyrone talked about how he accidentally left his date at the movies. Sam talked about a girl he dated in high school who stole his car and was found passed out drunk in it the next day. After awhile the conversation died down as everyone started to feel the drain of running around and fighting zombies from the day's test. Sam let out a yawn and watched as everyone started to stand up and head to their own individual cells. Becca and Tyrone holding hands as they both went into her room before she closed the door she looked back at Sam and gave a wink.

After a moment and everyone going off towards their own rooms except for himself he decided head back to his own room too passing by Martin's room who had his door opened. "H-Hey Sam!" Martin called as he sat on the floor searching through his backpack catching his attention. "What's up?" Sam asked as he walked in. "Check this out." Martin held up a small device. "I took apart one of the landmines that were in the testing room and i think i made my own!" he said happily and Sam took a step back. "So wait that thing could explode?" Martin shrugged. "I dunno I haven't tested it yet. oh that felt weird to say, y'know cuz of uh the tests." He finished awkwardly looking down at his new toy. Sam watched him closely. "Hey uh Martin. Becca and Tyrone just went into the next room together. Just a heads up." Martin groaned. "Again? I dunno how to tell them but they aren't the most subtle." Sam raised an eyebrow. "Why do they have to be subtle?" Martin rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean uh they um." His ears had a bit of pink to them. "They uh aren't that quiet... kinda makes it hard to sleep." He said and Sam gave a silent "Ah." Then an idea popped into his head. "Well if it's too bad you could always crash in my room." He didn't even realise he said it until Martin looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "I mean uh." Sam felt his face heat up. "Okay." He looked down at the mechanic who was still sitting crisscross. "Huh?" He said and Martin smiled. "Yeah it could be like a sleep over i haven't had one of those since I was a kid." He said, Sam couldn't even remember the last time he had a sleep over, he felt silly calling it that. "Heh sure just head over whenever." He said returning to his own room.

After about an hour Sam heard a knock at the door and opened it to see Martin standing there with his pillow and blanket. "Hey thanks for inviting me!" Martin said and Sam really did get the feeling that this was a sleep over as if they were kids, it didn't help that Martin looked like he was still in high school. Though he was just a year younger than Sam. "Yeah no problem, come on in." He said and Martin obliged and as he walked in he held up a deck of cards. "I also found these in my bag!" He said and Sam let out a laugh. "Alright then let's play a game." He said surprised that this could be more fun than he thought. "Alright you know how to play Crazy Eights?" Martin asked as he dealt out some cards.

After a several minutes of fast paced card games Sam let out another yawn and stood up. "Oh man prolly gonna turn in soon." He then noticed he was still wearing his jacket and jeans. Martin now let out a yawn as he set the pillow and laid the blanket out on the floor. "Yeah we should get some rest, you know... in case there uh is another test tomorrow." He added sadly and Sam stopped in the middle of pulling off his jacket. "That's right there could be another test. And what if it's the last test? What if something happens and one of us doesn't come back." He thought as he remembered what Becca was talking about he looked at Martin as he tried to lay on the blanket and also wrap himself up in it to stay warm. Sam sat down next to Martin's head who looked up and gave a goofy smile from a blanket burrito. "What's up?" He asked and Sam just looked down at him before leaning over and kissing him on the lips. When he pulled away he saw Martin's eyes wide a blush creeping across his face. "Wanna come up to the bed instead of sleeping on the floor?" Sam asked in a low voice. "Okay." Martin squeaked out.

Sam and Martin sat on the bed before Sam leaned in for another kiss, this time Martin was ready and kissed back, Sam's hand reached under Martin's shirt and up his back causing him to shudder a little, Martin's leg rubbed against Sam's slightly. They pulled away. "Th-that was uh wow." Martin stammered and Sam smiled. "I bet." He said as he pulled Martin closer which was fairly easy given their size difference. They pushed back into a kiss now Martin's hand went up Sam's shirt skimming across Sam's abs and up to his pecs. Sam pulled away and in one fluid motion pulled off his shirt and threw it on the floor, Martin just stared. "This is really happening." He whispered and Sam smiled as he leaned in close. "Wanna loose your shirt?" He asked in the same voice he saved for his girlfriends but now using it on Martin was working just as well since the mechanic slowly nodded and slowly lifted his own shirt.

If Sam knew that it could be just as hot with a guy as it was a girl he probably would have tried this earlier there were plenty of guys in his university who would be down for something like this. "Though it's a little late for that now." He thought bitterly, Martin held his shirt in his hands as he shyly revealed his body. It wasn't at all as well toned like Sam's but it didn't see to have any belly fat and more of a slim build. Sam pushed him back and tried something that drove his ex crazy. He looked at Martin's nipple and brought his mouth to it breathing on it Martin gasped as Sam began to suck on it, his tongue running all around it, for a brief moment then Sam pulled away and looked at Martin's now wide eyes. "Th-that f-felt really..." He didn't get to finish as Sam went to the other nipple as his hand played with the first one, Martin's body wiggled a little as he moaned a hand going through Sam's hair which sent a tingle down his spine, when he pulled away again he looked down and smiled as he saw Martin with a tent in his jeans. "Wanna take these off?" Sam asked still smiling. "O-Okay!" Martin said quickly unbuttoning his pants and trying to slip them off without getting out from under Sam.

There lay Martin in nothing but his blue boxers now with a tent pitched in them and white socks, Sam was leaning over him a smile on his face as Martin looked up with eager eyes. "Wanna have some fun tonight?" Sam asked and Martin smiled "S-sure." He said and they went back to kissing, Sam's hand rubbing Martin through his underwear, his legs shifting with each long motion of Sam's hand. "D-do you uh." Martin started through Sam's lips and Sam pulled away. "Want to what?" He asked and Martin looked away the bright room made his blush hard to hide. "Do um you wanna loose your pants?" He asked and Sam smiled softly, he stood up and undid his belt followed by his button and zipper, he slipped off his jeans and there in some white boxers was a half pitched tent himself. Sam blushed a little as Martin looked at it with a bit of slack jaw. "Wh-what next?" Martin asked nervously. Sam thought for a second as he re-positioned himself on the bed now sitting at the foot of the bed next to Martin's legs. His eyes briefly glancing at his feet. "Nah maybe that's too much for Martin." He thought pushing down some of his urges but then he smiled as he knew exactly what to do next.

Martin let out another moan as Sam went down and began to kissed up his leg until he got to Martin's underwear and slowly pulled it down Martin moving however he could to make it easier for him. Martin lay there naked Sam looked him up and down, a few hickeys on his chest and his dick hard and leaking precum. Sam just watched. "Whoa." he thought as he realized how far he'd actually got with Martin tonight. "W-wait." Martin said and Sam snapped too. "Can I, Can I do that to you?" He asked in a quiet voice and Sam raised an eyebrow. "Do what?" He asked and Martin gestured to all of him, and Sam shrugged. "Sure." He said as he leaned back and Martin moved closer until he was over Sam like how they were a moment ago. Sam simply rested his hands behind his head and smiled. "Go ahead." He said and Martin gulped as he went to kiss him. They kissed for awhile until Martin pulled away and kissed Sam's neck. "Oh damn." He thought as a sigh escaped him and Martin lowered even further until he tried to copy what Sam had done to his nipple. "So that's what that feels like, not bad." He let out a moan and Martin pulled away as his hands ran over Sam's chest, who had a cocky grin on the whole time.

Martin worked his way down kissing Sam's abs and waistline just above his boxers, kissing and coming back up to Sam's abs and then nipples, Sam closed his eyes and bit his lip. After few minutes Martin sat up and moved in for another kiss, to which Sam happily gave in to. Martin moved down to Sam's boxers sliding them down showing the now hard dick and stared at it for a moment. Then put his mouth over it and Sam let out a gasp. "Holy shit it's been way to long." He thought as Martin bobbed his head up and down gagging as he fit as much as he could into his mouth and Sam watched as Martin jerked himself off while he did. Sam ran a hand through Martin's curly black hair moaning loudly as Martin bobbed faster before pulling away with a gasp for air. "Holy moly, that was... Whoa I dunno man." Martin said and Sam let out a breath. "Damn, you do this before?" He asked and Martin looked down. "Uh yeah a buddy of mine, we uh tried stuff like this, he said it wasn't his cup of tea but I kinda liked it." Before he went back to sucking, Sam moved a hand to push him back and Sam leaned over before turning around. "Stop hogging all the fun." Sam said with a smile and now that he was eye level with Martin's dick he lowered himself feeling Martin take his hard cock back into his mouth he took Martin's into his. "Holy shit this is hot!" Sam thought as he felt Martin suck and slurp his cock and he practically did push ups to give Martin the same experience.

After only a few minutes of this, Martin's legs began twitching as his toes flexed and Sam felt himself getting ready to cum he felt his limbs feeling weaker as his eyes shut tight shooting into Martin's mouth. Suddenly hot cum shot into Sam's mouth causing him to gag as he pulled away and was hit with a second shot of cum into his face. Sam coughed a little as he sat up and looked over at Martin. who was wiping his mouth and then looked at Sam as he paled. "Oh man I'm sorry I didn't mean to-" He stopped when Sam started to laugh. "Dude you got some on your forehead!" Sam laughed and Martin started to laugh too. "Well you got some on your cheek." He said as he sat up and Sam pulled him into another kiss then pulled away. "Maybe we should go take a shower." Sam said and Martin agreed, quickly they opened the door to the common area and seeing that everyone was probably already asleep and the coast was clear rushed to the shower to rinse themselves off. When they were done they went back to Sam's room and after an awkward moment of Martin asking if they should sleep head to feet or back to back Sam just pulled him to be the little spoon and fell asleep.

The next morning Sam woke up first and looked down at the still sleeping Martin. His hair fell over his eyes and he was letting out light snores as Sam debated just staying right there or seeing if he could slither out of bed without waking him. A knock at the door solved the problem as Martin flinched awake at the sudden noise. "Hey Sam I need to talk to you." That was January's voice Sam quickly sat up as he and Martin exchanged a look of panic. "Uh just a second." He looked around scooping up Martin's clothes and handing them to him, Martin looked around before sliding under the bed. "Today Sam!" January called and Sam looked around to make sure there wasn't anything of Martin's around and threw on his pants and opened the door. "Jeez what the hell Jan?" He said as January let herself in. "Listen I need to talk to Sandwich about something serious but I can't find him, You think those assholes got him last night?" she asked worry in her voice. Sam's eyes grew wide. "Uuuuhh." He quickly glanced down spotting a tiny bit of Martin's hair sticking out from under the small cot. "I'm sure he's fine, wherever he his." He said and January threw her hands up. "And where the fuck is that? He's not in his room or the shower room. There ain't a lot of places to hide in here!" She said as she let out a sigh and dropped onto the bed. "OOF!" came from underneath the cot and January slowly lifted her head to look at Sam who had already turned around. "Sam." January started. "Yes?" He whispered back. "Is Martin Sandwich under your bed?" She asked and a moment of silence came over the room. "No?" Martin answered from under the bed.

January stood there as Martin poked his head out from under the bed. "Gadzooks! My teleportation machine worked, I went from my room to under Sam's bed!" He said and January raised an eyebrow, an unamused look on her face. "Seriously that's the first thing you could think of?" She said and turned towards Sam. "You wanna help him sell this or just tell me you guys fucked?" And Sam raised his hands. "The miracle of science?" He said and January couldn't help but smirk. "Okay I'll let you two get dressed and then I HAVE to talk to Martin. Got it?" She said as she left the room. "Uh hey Jan could you not uh?" Sams started and January waved him off. "Please, like I care about gossip." Sam let out a sigh then paused. "Don't you work for a paper article!?" He called and she turned back and smiled before closing the door." Martin quickly got dressed and after sharing an awkward look with Sam he went to the door but not before Sam grabbed his hand. "Hey uh if you ever wanna do this again..?." He said and Martin smiled. "Uh yeah, I'll uh.. call you?.. Yeah." Then he quickly left and went back to his room Sam threw on his regular shirt and jacket, surprisingly the dresser in his room had clothes pretty much exactly like his save for the design or color. When he left his room he saw Martin talking to January whatever they were talking about left a smile on Martin's face. "Next time there's a test?" He whispered and January nodded. "Keep it quiet though we can't let the assholes hear about it." She whispered back. Then she glanced over and saw Sam she smirked and walked back to her room.

As the day picked up everyone came from their rooms Becca wearing one of Tyrone's shirts and Valerie with a severe case of bed head as she went to grab something to eat from the door where food was delivered. Sometimes it was a box of MRE's other times it was just gruel and sometimes it was just soup. Now it was a catering cart with six trays on it. Sam watched as Valerie took a bite of the biscuits and gravy on her tray and grimaced. "How's it taste Val?" Sam asked already aware of the answer. Valerie looked at him. "Like someone told me it was a chewable pill but it turned out it wasn't." She said before she sadly took another bite. Sam shook his head. If it wasn't for the fact he wanted to keep his weight up he wouldn't eat any of this stuff at all but you can't punch zombies on an empty stomach. Sam took his tray and corrected Valerie saying it tasted like the cough medicine he had to drink when he was sick as a kid. The group all agreed that the food sucked and was now left with the the daily problem. Would they be forced to partake in a horrible test that threatened life and limb or simply be stuck in this room all day dying of boredom. Sam did what he always did when he had free time which was a lot, he worked out. 

Tyrone often joined him as the two did push ups or squats whatever it took to stay at top form so they could either kick a monster's ass or run away if needed. Sometimes the others would join though it was clear Martin and Valerie didn't have much stamina as the two would only stick around for a few minutes. Tyrone did manage to convince everyone to work on their cardio which was hard considering the size of the room but they reluctantly agreed to after it proved how much they would need it. Especially when running away.

A buzz came over the intercom. "Well well well, it looks like you are all up and about, I'm happy for you." A familiar french accented man's voice came over the intercom. "The king of assholes, Daniel!" January said flipping off a camera. "Now now I bring good news,You all are being set free! Eh eh? Why is nobody happy." As he said nobody reacted to his fake news he had told them before then Valerie looked up. "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me, fool me three times-" "And you're a piece of shit!" January finished for her. Valerie nodded and the room fell silent. "Fine you all are boring, anyways get ready, another test will begin in one hour, don't be late." He said and everyone exchanged looks Sam went back to his room to grab any weapons he could which usually was a metal bat or a two-by-four as most things broke against the monsters, then he went to the elevator they were expected to wait at each test and cracked his knuckles. As everyone got their gear and weapons they went to wait by the elevator, Sam glanced back at Martin who was whispering to January. "What do they have planned?"

The elevator brought them to an old looking room, as each walked out into the dimly lit area they heard Daniel speak up. "We have more fun ahead, well fun for me." He said and Sam groaned as the group moved on walking at the front of the group Sam raised his metal baseball bat ready to swing at anything that came around, Tyrone next to him who had a piece of wood with some nails sticking out of it. "Careful everyone." Tyrone said as he opened a door leading to the next room which was a wide open space, a warehouse from the looks of the boxes and crates piled high. Becca walked beside Tyrone she had her six shooter and had it raised, ready to fire anything that moved. They walked on in, more silence, Sam's nerves were on edge. "Over there!" Valerie whispered to everyone as she stayed in the center of the group being the only one without a weapon since she lost it in the last test, she pointed towards the back of the room a single zombie stood there it hadn't noticed them, next to it was a raccoon statue that was missing an arm, leg, and tail. Daniel's voice came back. "Ah we should give the undead a helping hand. Oui?" And with that a dart flew out of the camera and hit the zombie spreading a red gas around it the Zombie twitched then turned it's attention to the group. It's lifeless eyes strained on Sam, it's skinless lips and cheeks bleeding as the mouth opened to let out a cry as it walked with unsettling speed towards them in a jerking motion. "Get ready!" Sam called as Becca and January stepped forward their guns raised. "Ah ah." Daniel's voice called out again. "I wouldn't be so focused on what is in front, if I were you." Daniel's smug voiced called out and Sam looked behind the group as another dart flew out of the camera right past the group it hit two mangled and bloody dogs as they both growled and looked at the group they snarled and started running towards the survivors. "Behind us!" Sam called but it was too late one of the dogs jumped on Martin who was at the rear of the group, it knocked him to the ground and dug it's teeth into his shoulder causing him to cry out in pain. The other one sprinted past Valerie and jump on January just as she turned around causing her to fall on her back, as she held it back with all her might it's teeth snapping at her face. Becca was now firing four of the six shots at the zombie in from nailing it in the head, it stumbled backwards and she turned as she reloaded. Tyrone delivered a kick into the side of the dog attacking January and it flew off her but then quickly got up and started running around the room readying itself to pounce on someone again. Meanwhile Sam swung the bat hard into the side of zombie dog that was on top of Martin and knocked it far back, before it could get back up though he rushed over and slammed the bat hard onto it's head hearing a crack then it lay there motionless.

Sam turned back as he heard Becca fire again though she only hit the dog in the side, it seemed unfazed as it started to run directly at her now that she was reloading. Tyrone stepped in front of her as he swung the the piece of wood in his hands, it slammed hard against the dog splintering into an unusable stick barely a foot long. But the dog seemed stunned long enough for Becca to fire a single shot into its head and as it tried to stand it fell over and lay there motionless. The group turned to Martin who was holding his bleeding shoulder. "You alright?" Valerie asked as she went to look at it. "Yeah just caught me off guard." Martin said and Sam wondered if he was just acting tough or if it really wasn't that bad. He hoped the later.

After the group patched up Martin and discovered they had to find the remaining Mr. Raccoon pieces they decided to split up. Sam and Martin would stay by the door and make sure nothing came by to surprise the group and the others would go look for the pieces they needed, Sam gave his bat to Tyrone and then stood next to Martin who waited by the door. Sam paced back and forth keeping an eye out for anything that would be considered dangerous. "How's the shoulder?" He asked his gaze shifting from the door they entered from to the one the others left out of to another that was in the other direction at the far end of the warehouse. "I mean it hurts but c'mon we've all been bit before. I'll be fine." Martin said as he fiddled with one of his shock traps, where he found the parts to make those Sam would never know. "Hey uh Sam?" Martin's quiet voice was barely audible, Sam didn't look away from the doors. "Yeah?" He asked, he could hear Martin standing up."Are we uh... Cool?" Sam shrugged. "What do you mean?" He asked taking a glance back at Martin who had started to pull out the landmine he had been working on last night. "Just uh wondering, I mean I've never had a one night stand before, wait was that what we were or are we like together or-" A door slammed open they both were quiet. Scanning the room Sam couldn't see whatever threw the door open with such force, he looked around and looked back at Martin who had his pistol raised also scanning the room. "What is it? A licker?" He asked and Sam hoped not, those things were a pain to deal with when you had guns, he'd rather not try to fight one with just his bare fists.

The room remained silent until Sam heard it the clear sound of a licker's claws clicking against whatever surface it was walking along. Sam glanced around and spotted it hiding in one of the darker corners of the room on the ceiling, Sam pointed it out and Martin raised his gun. Not that a 9 millimeter would do much to a licker. "Hey guys!" Sam's eyes went wide as he looked over and saw the familiar yellow hoodie of Valerie enter the room. Sam looked back at the licker and saw that it moved quickly across the ceiling to position itself above Valerie and he sprinted to her. "We found the-" She was cut off as Sam tackled her to the ground just as the licker dropped driving it's long deadly claws into the ground where Valerie was just standing. Sam and Valerie lay there silent as the licker turned it's head in their direction, they knew that it was blind and heavily relied on sound to hunt so as long as they didn't make any noise it would think it need to search elsewhere. The two sat there unmoving, Valerie covering her mouth as she was breathing heavily and trying to steady it, the door she had just came from slowly opened and Sam saw Tyrone peeking his head into the room, when he saw the licker he motioned for Sam to come closer to maybe to pull him into the room with them, but Sam shook his head slowly pointing past the licker and mouthing the name "Martin.". Tyrone looked at the two on the ground then the licker that now was starting to walk towards the wall and begin to climb up it. Martin keeping his gun on it. Tyrone ducked his head back into the room and Sam could hear him quietly talking to January and Becca. Unsure of what to do, Sam just sat there waiting for the licker to move far enough away for him to come up with a real plan.

After a few minutes of the licker staying perched on the wall right next to Sam and Valerie, Sam saw Martin bend down and pick up something, though he couldn't see what it was but then Martin threw it across to the far end of the room away from everyone, making a metal sounding clang as it landed and the licker letting out a shriek jumped off the wall and at an alarming speed ran across the floor to where the piece of junk lay. Taking this opportunity Sam picked up Valerie and they ran into the room where the others waited as Martin followed. "Oh my God thank you Sam!" Valerie said breathlessly now that the group was reunited they watched as the licker came back over to where it slashed the ground. "How do we get past it?" Becca whispered. "How much ammo you guys got?" Tyrone asked as he raised the bat and Martin only had his current magazine no extra, Becca had a few rounds, January had a spare magazine with only three more rounds in her current one. Suddenly a creak could be heard and they all looked over saw a zombie woman stumble into the room, once she saw the group she began walking towards them, Becca raised her gun only for Tyrone to push it down. "No that thing will hear it." He whispered as he pointed back out the door where the licker waited. The group watched as the zombie slowly shuffled towards them bumping into things along the way. "I got this." Sam said as he slowly walked towards the zombie. "I just have to break it's neck." He thought as he readied himself to grapple it so he could come up from behind and try and kill it quietly.

Suddenly a loud static screech came from over the intercom right above everyone. They looked up wide-eyed as a laugh came over the intercom. "Oops, I'm sorry did I do that? So much for the quiet approach." Daniel said. a brief moment of everyone just staring at the ceiling or each other or the door, then chaos. The door swung up hard smacking into Valerie knocking her to the ground as the licker leapt into the room with a screech Tyrone fell back as the licker went past him, Becca didn't have time to move and she watched wide eyed as the licker landed on top of her pinning her, it started to raise it's massive claws. Sam looked back with terror in his eyes, and the groan from the zombie caught him off guard as he turned back to it he raised his fists but it was too late it grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to pull itself close enough to bite him. "Someone get this thing off me!" Becca shouted as Tyrone righted himself and brought the bat up ready to swing and January aimed at the licker and firing.

Sam pushed back the zombie, one hand on it's torso the other on it's forehead as he gritted his teeth pushing with all his might. The lipless mouth of the undead woman was open as it got closer and closer. "Get off me!" Sam cried out as the zombie let out it's horrible breath and eerie groans. He could here gunfire behind him and honestly was expecting to get impaled by the licker any minute now. He gave one final push to get the zombie off of him as he lunged forward breaking free of her grasp as she fell backwards he turned around and saw Becca crawling away from a licker that was being shot by January and Martin, it twisted it's limber body until it was facing them and swung in a large claws in an arc letting out a cry as it did. January fell back just out of reach and Martin turned to run, the claws caught his backpack slashing it open and spilling some of the contents on the floor. Sam looked down at it. "Martin the landmine!" Sam said noticing it fall onto the ground. Martin looked back and reached for it, but the licker crawled closer and was now right on top of Martin, who looked up at eyes wide with fear, it raised it's claws. Sam sprinted forward and slammed his shoulder hard into the back of the licker knocking it off balance for a brief moment before it turned around and screeched right in Sam's face. As he stood there in fear the only thing that crossed his mind was "Holy shit. I'm going to die."

Suddenly he was yanked to the side by January as six shots hit directly into the licker's head, it cried out and stumbled back. "C'mon this way!" Martin said as he held the door open and everyone made a dash for it, running right past the licker that was currently stumbling around even though it has six bullets in it's head. Once everyone was on the other side Martin threw the makeshift landmine into the room as he closed the door quickly and turned to run there was an explosion that threw him to the ground and knocked the door off it's hinges. "Martin!" Valerie called out as she rushed over to him. "Are you okay?" She asked and Martin held his hands to the sides of his head, his eyes seemed to have trouble focusing. "I'll be fine, that was just a lot louder than I thought it would be." He said dizzily as the others rushed over and after seeing he'd be fine they pulled him up and walked him over to the Mr. Raccoon statue. After they placed all of the pieces in the doors to the elevator opened and Daniel's voice came back over the intercom. "Ah look at you thinking you're clever, you know we have more tests for you right?" He said and everyone exchanged a look they went into the elevator. "Hey Martin you got that thing ready?" January asked and Martin now a little more focused held up one of his shock traps. "Made it special." He said with a grin, Sam looked at him then January. "What are you talking about?" He asked and January looked around the elevator. "Just... Here's hoping this doesn't make the elevator drop and kill us." She said to which there were several noises of confusion and concern before she pulled out her hacking device. Martin stuck the modified shock trap to the side of the elevator and backed away pushing everyone as far back as they could get. Daniel's voice came back on "What the fuck do you think-" Daniel's voice cut out as the shock trap went off and the elevator screeched to a halt. January pressed a few buttons on her device and there was a brief spark from it. After a moment the elevator started moving again. "What the hell was that?" Tyrone asked and January looked back at the group. "Well too soon to say but I think i just got control of the elevator and if I'm right then when these doors open, we should be home free." She said and Sam felt his breath hitch looking around everyone seemed to be taken aback. When the elevator came to another stop the doors opened to reveal another storage room like the one they had just left.

January dropped to her knees. "It didn't work." She whispered and Valerie knelt down beside her. "Hey at least you tried." She said sadly placing a hand on January's shoulder. "Hey guys, do you hear that?" Becca asked and everyone went quiet. Sam cupped a hand around his ear to hear better. It was a beep but a strangely familiar beep not like the one from the elevator or test tubes in the labs. January stood up. "That sounds like a truck!" She said and the group rushed forward turning the corner of one of the shelves that blocked their view and they saw it, several people, actual people not zombies, dressed in hazmat suits with the umbrella logo on it unloading and moving boxes and crates. "Holy shit..." Sam said as he saw a massive elevator large enough for the truck they heard start to rise up with it towards what looked like an actual night sky, something he hadn't seen in two months.

The group crouched down and hid behind nearby crates. "Holy shit holy shit holy shit!" January said quietly as the others leaned in. "It worked I can't believe it worked!" Martin whispered. "How do we know this isn't part of the test?" Tyrone asked worriedly and everyone exchanged a look. "I say we get out of here and then worry about if it's still a test or not." Sam said and everyone seemed to agree they then turned and peaked over the crate they were hiding behind. "There's... seven of them." Valerie said as she counted the seven workers. Five moving things, two with clipboards. "We can take them." January said. "No no we can't!" Valerie pointed out an eighth man with a security guard uniform on a rifle in his hands as he just lazily scanned the area. Martin ducked down as if just looking at the guy would get him shot. "What if we snuck out?" Sam asked not taking his eyes off the elevator that led to the surface. "Whatever we do I say we do it fast." Becca said in a whisper. "No telling when they'll send someone to come find us!" She added and everyone agreed. "Okay I vote for sneaking out." Martin said they were some hushed voices of concern but in the end they agreed it would be better avoid a fight especially if there could be more guards on the way. "Alright we move from crate to crate until we get to that lift, sound like a plan?" Sam said pointing towards the several stacks of crates between them and the lift that was being lowered down a full truck on it. There were hushed voices of agreement and they slowly one by one went for the closest stack of crates to block the view of the workers.

Sam went first running forward to the large box with the Umbrella logo on it. He peaked around and when he saw that the workers were more occupied with the new truck he kept his focus on the guard and saw that he was looking at the truck too. "Perfect." He motioned for the others to follow and he looked back he saw them moving up two by two save for January who followed at the back. Moving as swiftly as he could from one box to another he made great strides towards the truck and as one of the workers went back to grab a forklift Sam had a brief moment of panic, "Shit how do we get to the truck without being seen!?" He thought as he noticed the was open space between where he was and the lift all but one of the workers standing behind the truck unloading it or writing something on the clipboards they held as they examined the cargo. Sam looked around, he turned back towards the others making his distress known, hopefully one of them would have a way to sneak past.

Suddenly one of the containers near Sam shook violently a low snarl could be heard from inside, Sam looked wide eyed at whatever was making the noise as a man moved closer to the container and Sam who hid next to it. "Oh shit oh fuck!" Sam thought as he heard the footsteps getting closer. "No no no no, We were so close!" He imagined them shooting them and throwing whoever was still alive back into that horrible place. "No Please don't let them find us!" Sam wished desperately before he looked at the container that made the noise. then he saw the lock was electronic. He turned back to January who had a wide-eyed panicked look on her face. He waved his arms to get her attention. when she looked he pointed at the lock and she nodded pulling out the same device she used to override the elevator she aimed it at the lock on the large upright container. Sam looked back as the screen glitched before it read open a low hiss came from it as some gas shot out briefly. "Hey why's it opening!?" The man nearby yelled as the door to the container flew open and something sprinted out with a shriek it lunged after the man. Sam looked past the crate that hid him and saw some strange green insect like monster with long sharp claws slashing viciously at the man who was on the ground screaming. The other workers started scattering now and the guard fired at it but even though it's shell was pierced and green blood splattered on the ground it didn't seem fazed much and turned it's attention towards the man who shot it. Sam turned back towards everyone motioning for them to move.

Sam arrived at the lift first as the lights signifying it was raising went off he turned back and saw everyone quickly climb up before it raised out of reach then they quickly crawled underneath the truck so as not to be seen but the driver. Screams growing more distant as the creature they had released ran off wreaking havoc. He turned and did a head count. Everyone was there, he couldn't help but smile as the lift reached the top of wherever it was going and the cool night air hit him, he took a deep breath in. They really did it they got out. The sound of the truck door closing snapped him out of it and he saw the boots of the driver quickly walk over to a building, peaking out from under the truck, he saw a very panicked man type in a code on the door keypad and once it opened he rushed in. Sam looked around and saw that there wasn't anyone else around and he crawled out from under it everyone else following his lead. As he looked up he saw for the first time in awhile the sky, he looked around and saw everyone with similar looks of amazement, Valerie took off her glasses as she wiped her eyes, Tyrone turned to Becca and picked her up as they both laughed, January smiled and closed her eyes taking in a deep breath. Sam looked at Martin and saw him looking back a smile spread across his face. "Hey guys." They all looked at January who took a step back and tapped the truck. "We got a ride, what are we sticking around here for?" She said with a grin.

Thankfully the driver had left the keys in and after a brief argument over who would drive, Which Tyrone won having been the only person drive anything this big, They sped off into the night. With Tyrone and Becca in the front the other sat in the wide back of the truck. Valerie looking out the small back window on the backdoor of the truck. January sat across from Sam and as they locked eyes she stuck her tongue out showing off her tongue piercing Sam smiled at her. Martin came over and sat down next to Sam. "I can't believe it. We actually got away." He said with a smile and Sam looked at him before reaching over and pulling him closer to his side catching the mechanic off guard, January eyes widened a little before she grinned. "Alright you two keep that lovey dovey stuff to a minimum." She said as Martin covered his face, ears bright red barely visible from under his mess of hair. Sam smiled. "You're just jealous I got to him first." He said giving Martin a light shake. "Wait what?" Valerie said as she walked over sitting next to January. She looked at Sam, then Martin and a smile slowly spread across her face as she covered her mouth with her hands. Now Sam was a little embarrassed. "So that's what I heard last night!" She said and Sam blinked. "Say what now?" He asked before remembering that his room was next to Valerie's. Valerie turned towards January. "I thought I was just dreaming but I totally heard Sam with someone last night!" January just narrowed her eyes like a cat, smile still on her face as she met Sam's eyes. "Oh really. And what did you hear?" Valerie brought her hand to her chin in thought. "Mostly just. 'Oh right there babe' or 'Harder!'" Valerie cried out and Sam face was burning. "That's not what-!" And Martin sat up. "Nobody said that- those- them words!" His voice cracking as Valerie and January let out a laugh together. Martin went back to burying his face in Sam's side as Sam just hid his face with his hand. "But seriously you two a thing?" January asked as Valerie leaned in and Sam looked at Martin who looked up at him. "I mean are we?" Martin asked a hint of unease in his voice, Sam thought for a second although it was an in the moment kind of thing would he want to make a commitment. "I think so, right?" Sam asked and Martin smiled. "Uh yeah why not?" He said and Sam nodded. "Yeah why not?"

"Hey guys wake up." Valerie gently shook Sam until his eyes drowsily blinked open unsure when he even fell asleep. "What? We there yet?" He asked rubbing his eyes as Martin pushed himself up. "We're stopping to grab something to eat." She said and Sam sat up immediately. "Food that doesn't taste like someone vomited medicine on it? Fuck yeah let's go!" He said as he stood up lifting a half-still asleep Martin to his feet. He flung open the doors to the back of the truck and hopped down onto the street. Martin and Valerie followed behind. as Sam looked up at it. "Jack's Bar?" He had never been here before but when he saw the other three members of their group inside through the large window he rushed in opening the door he walked in to an atmosphere almost forgotten to him, as he remembered the bars near the university he hung out at with friends. He thought for a moment that he'd never have this feeling again he looked around and saw the people, a cop at the bar, a blonde waitress cleaning up after customers that had left, two older men in security guard uniforms chatting with the bartender. He saw the others sitting at the bar waving him over, he quickly went over with Martin and Valerie following close behind. As he sat down the familiar sent of real food and booze and even people filled the air and Sam missed it. "We just ordered a bunch of burgers." Becca said as the waitress came by and dropped off some glasses of water. "Anything to drink for you?" She asked with a smile Sam smiled back. "Normal people who aren't trying to kill us." he thought. " Yes I'll take a glass of whiskey and a coke for the little guy." He said as he pointed towards Martin who looked a little offended. "Excuse me, I can drink a whiskey! B-but uh yeah a root beer if ya don't mind." He said and Valerie nodded her head. "Me too please." She said the waitress smiled as she walked away grabbing two cups and a glass then began to fill them. Sam suddenly paled as he searched his pockets. "Guys how are we gonna pay for this?" He whispered to the others remembering his wallet was taken and destroyed by Umbrella. Tyrone smiled. "Relax, let's just say someone forgot their wallet in his truck." He said quietly as he tapped a couple of fifty dollar bills that sat on the bar in front of him.

Their food arrived and everyone scarfed it down enjoying food with a taste other than bad, Sam felt like he might cry as he bit into his burger, Valerie did cry but that didn't stop her from eating, everyone had similar responses earning them a strange look from the others in the bar. "Okay guys, we gotta figure out what we planning on doing." Tyrone said quietly as everyone leaned in. "What do you mean? We go to the cops who else?" Becca asked before she took another huge bite out of her own burger. "Nah can't trust them." January said and everyone looked at her. "Before Umbrella took me, some lady with the paper had me look into any connections between those pharmaceutical assholes and the cops seeing as how I was so rudely detained we can assume that yes, they do indeed run the police." The group shifted their gaze towards the police officer at the bar who took a sip of his whiskey and looked over at the group before winking and shooting Valerie with a finger gun. Valerie just winced. "Maybe we should go somewhere else?" Martin asked. "I dunno maybe we should just leave town?" Valerie said still glancing at the cop. They continued to discuss their plans even as the door opened none of them paying it any mind focusing on whatever they were talking about, when they heard the bartender cry out "Ah, What are you doing!?" He yelled as the group turned they saw a man biting the bartender before he pushed him outside and quickly locking the door, they watched in horror as zombies began to slam against the windows. "No..." Sam heard Valerie whisper as more zombies walked towards the windows. The other patrons of the bar scrambling to figure out what was going on, while the six that had just escaped Umbrella's clutches just watched as the nightmare followed them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AH I CHUGGED 4 RED BULLS AND JUST HAD TO MAKE THIS!  
> Hope you all like it! Cuz I'm making more whether I like it or not!


	2. Trapped again.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danger again and again.

Sam looked on, eyes wide with terror, as the waitress rushed over to the bleeding bartender who leaned against the door as it shook from the zombies slammed their bodies against it. Sam glanced at the others, their faces filled with the same terror as they watched as zombies walked to the large window and started to bang their hands against it smearing blood onto the window. "Becca, how much ammo you got?" Tyrone asked watching the other patrons moving towards the bartender tending to the bloody wound on his neck. "Just two shots left." She grimaced not taking her eyes off the zombies on the other side of the glass. "I left my gun in the truck." January groaned and Martin gripped his hair. "Me too!" He said and everyone looked at the horde now coming closer to the door, cracks starting to form on the beaten windows. "I say we fight our way to the truck!" January said and the other's exchanged looks. "I don't know, we've never fought this many without a lot more fire power." Valerie said.

"Hey you guys!" They looked over to see an older man with dark skin and a bald head, he was rather large compared to the others, he wore a brown jacket that had in yellow words 'Security' on the back. He was looking at them. "Go grab something to stop the bleeding!" He called out pressing his hands against the wound on the bartender's neck. "R-right!" Martin said rushing around to the back of the bar and searching for something that could match what the old security guard asked for. Valerie joined him searching the side of the bar closer to the other security guard who remained where he sat, head resting on his arms against the bar as if he were sleeping. Sam looked at the others then towards the group by the door. The cop was looking out the window confused, his gun drawn as he aimed it at the door, the waitress seemed to be in shock as she she knelt down next to the bartender. Sam ran towards the door and pressed himself against it. "Everyone has to get away from the windows!" He cried out as the cop watched him. "What the hell's going on?" He asked and Sam shook his head. "Just do it!" He shouted, now that he was closer he saw the wood around the hinges of the door start to splinter and a new sense of dread filled him as he felt the door shake with each slam. "I found these!" Martin said as he rushed over with some dish towels in his hand.

Sam looked back and took in the room, Martin was with the security guard pressing the towels against the wound. January was searching the small kitchen for something, Tyrone was gone and Becca was trying to open a door at the back of the room that read 'Employees only'. The other security guard slowly fell to the ground as Valerie ran to his side. "Bob!?" The larger security guard turned his head towards the other as he collapsed against the floor. "Here keep the pressure on." He told Martin as he went back to his friend. "Um we should really get away now!" Martin said as he watched the cracks in the glass started to spread across the entirety of the massive window, hands still on the neck of the bartender who's eyes were shut grunting in pain as he brought his hand up to the dish towel. Martin turned towards the waitress and the cop. "You uh go-go over there okay?" He pointed to where Becca was still trying to open the door slamming her shoulder into it. "But what about Will?" She asked her voice quivering. "Trust me, just head over there! H-help her open that door! This place has a back exit right? Go!" He said his voice filled with urgency. She looked down at Will,then to Becca, and then she and the cop exchanged looks they both stood, the waitress went behind the bar to grab something then both went over to Becca. "Sam what do we do? He's infected!" Martin whispered as the bartender's eyes looked back and forth from the mechanic to the boxer. "I dunno just, uh take him over to the others!" Sam said and Martin nodded as he lifted the bartender by the arm gingerly. "Just keep your hand there." Martin said to the bartender pulling an arm around his neck for support now heading towards the group that had January with a knife from the kitchen, Tyrone holding what looked like a broom handle, Valerie and the security guard helping his friend towards the now open door.

The sound of glass breaking caught all of their attention as the window cracked and broke away as zombies started to fall into the bar clumsily. Sam wide eyed, rushed away from the door grabbing the other side of the bartender and rushing him and Martin towards the group as they went through the door all except for the police officer, he had his gun raised aiming at the mob of zombies that poured into the room. "Stop right there!" He called out. As Sam and Martin ran past with the injured man held between them Sam pulled on the cop's arm. "That doesn't work on them, just run!" He said and the cop shook him free before aiming at the zombies again. "I said freeze!" He shouted but the zombies just kept moving forward. Sam turned back and saw the cop looking around. "C'mon!" He shouted and the officer looked at the approaching horde of the bloody mob then he turned and ran towards the door, as he went through, Sam shut it and locked it stepping back, it only took a moment for the same familiar groans of the undead approached the door before a heavy thud hit the door followed by another and another. Sam looked around seeing that the door didn't lead to a back exit but instead led to a small corridor with stairs leading to the second floor. He once again took the other side of the man the waitress had called Will and led him up along with Martin.

Up the stairs he could hear the voices of others. "What the fuck is going on?" A gruff voice asked. "What were those things?" The waitress asked. When Sam turned the corner he saw everyone standing in what looked like short hallway doors on both sides leading into a much larger space that looked like a break room, with a fridge, desk, and a couch decorating it, with a coffee table in front of the couch and a dart board hanging on the wall, Sam thought for brief moment that this would be a nice place to relax but then quickly remembered that now was definitely not the time to be playing darts. As he got closer Becca ran over to him, "You guys okay?" She asked and Sam led Will to the couch where he sat down next to the security guard who collapsed earlier, who now looked like he was half dazed and just generally zoned out, Sam wondered if he was infected too. "Can we call the police?" The waitress asked and the officer who now stood with the others gestured to himself. "I am the cops!" He said defensively. "More police than just you Kevin!" The waitress exclaimed with a huff. The cop leaned back a little. "What's wrong with them? Why did they look like that?" The security guard asked. "Well uh." All eyes were on Valerie who had spoken up. "Um never mind." She said. "Come on out with it, if you know something about those guys tell us." The cop said before turning towards Sam. "Do you know them? You said warnings wouldn't work on them, why not?" He said and Sam looked at the others, they shared looks then January spoke up. "Alright listen, those things downstairs, are something called Bio weapons or B.O.W.'s for short. They came from a virus that turns you into some slow brained asshole that only wants to eat people." She said and everyone looked at her, The Policeman, the waitress, and the security guard looked as if the saw someone spouted crazy talk, though from their point of view they probably did.

After the others confirmed January's claim they also began to elaborate that Umbrella was behind this. "Are you kidding me?" the police man that the woman called Kevin earlier said with an eyebrow raised. "Do I look like I tell jokes?" January said crossing her arms. "And how do you all know this?" The security guard asked a skeptical look on his face. "We uh kinda broke out of one of their labs." Tyrone said and the waitress tilted her head, disbelief written all over her face. "What?" She asked her blonde ponytail swaying as she shook her head. "This is crazy, I'm calling the police." She said as she walked to a door at the end of the room. "You all aren't on some kind of drug are you? Because I'll take you in." Kevin said setting them all on edge when they heard a groan and footsteps coming from down the hall. "Shit they got in!" Tyrone said and everyone tensed up. "What do they want?" Kevin asked turning back towards the group of six. "I told you man, they want to eat us!" January said pointing the knife towards the hall where the zombies started to walk into view. "You don't seriously think I believe that do you?" The cop asked but still raised his gun towards the zombies, a bloody man walking at the from his white shirt stained red with blood from his neck. "Just shut up and shoot!" Martin shouted. A scream from the room where the waitress disappeared into caught the policeman off guard. "Cindy?" He shouted before looking back at the closing zombies. "I'll go check on her!" Becca said and Sam watched as the security guard pulled out a handgun from the holster on his waist and aimed it at the zombies too. "Me too." Sam said hoping those two could hold them back as he rushed into the other room with Becca.

Inside they saw the woman Kevin called Cindy holding someone back as he tried to pull her closer by the shoulders attempting to bite her, Becca raised her gun and fired two shots, both hitting their mark as the zombie's head jerked backwards before falling over dead. "You okay?" Sam asked as he went to Cindy's side. "His eyes t-they, looked all wrong! Jack- He wouldn't listen to me then he-" Sam shook her a little. "Hey! Did he bite you?" He asked looking her over, her uniform had bloody hand prints where the zombified man had grabbed her but otherwise she seemed uninjured. "No he just... I don't know what was wrong with him!" Sam knew this wasn't the time for I told you so's. Gunfire could be heard from the break room. "Listen." Sam said pulling the waitress to her feet. "Is there anywhere else we can go? There's gonna be too many of those things if we stay here." He said and Cindy nodded. "We can um. The roof! We can go to the roof!" She said and Sam didn't like the idea of being stuck on the roof as who knows how many zombies tried to get them. But as they entered the room they saw Kevin standing there aiming at a zombie that seemed to standing back up after being knocked to the ground. "You have to hit it in the head!" Valerie yelled as she hid behind Tyrone who had the broom handle raised ready to swing at the zombie closest to him. After a moment of looking at the zombie man he shot start to stand back up and turn towards him, mouth covered, a snarl on his face as his hands reached out, Kevin fired again hitting it just above the right eyebrow, the back of it's head splattering all over the two zombies behind it as it fell down to the floor. "Holy shit." Kevin said as he watched the other zombies continue their advance unfazed by the death of the man in front of them. "Over there!" Cindy pointed to one of the doors in the hallway. "That leads to the roof." She said and Sam looked at the others as the security guard raised his gun. Sam looked over and saw Valerie talking to the guard on the couch. "I need to borrow this okay?" She said as she lifted the handgun from his belt, he tried to reach for her with a weak. "No." But she was already aiming and firing at the closest zombie, Tyrone gave a hard swing to a nearby zombie breaking the broom handle he then shoved the splintered wood into the eye of the same zombie while it was stunned from his first attack.

After a few shots from the three with guns, the zombie crowd had thinned enough for them to make for the door Cindy had pointed to, Sam reached it first swinging it open on the other side was another set of stair leading upwards. Sam looked around the door and saw more zombies shuffle into view. "Come on!" He said as Cindy, Tyrone, and Becca ran through the door and up the stairs, the security guard going over to his friend pulling him up he put the man's arm over his shoulder and hoisted him up and led him towards the door, Martin did a similar motion with Will though with less speed as Martin lacked the same upper body strength as the much older security guard and Will seemed to just barely be conscious dragging his feet as they moved. Sam saw this and turned his attention back to the zombies walking ever closer gaining speed as they saw their prey. "Val!" He called out as he went back to help Martin lift will. "Yeah got it!" She said nervously as she stepped beside Kevin, the two stood between the zombies and the others as she fired twice hitting one zombie in the shoulder and another in the arm neither shot seemed to slow them down any. "Oh no no no!" She said as she took a step back and Kevin stepped forward firing until he ran out of ammo, as he reloaded a zombie reached out and made a lunge for him grabbing him. "Shit, get off me!" He shouted, the zombie reared it's head ready to bite him only for it's head to jerk to the side as January plunged her knife into the zombies temple. Kevin stumbled backwards a little somewhat shocked at what just happened, January pushed him through the door leading towards the stairs. "Come on get moving!" she said as she followed glancing back at the others "Let's go guys!" She shouted at Sam and Martin. The group of zombies seemed to fill the hallway almost completely as they moved closer in a wave of eerie groans and outstretched bloody arms, she fired again and one dropped but it didn't seem to make a difference. Sam took Will's other arm and he and Martin took him towards the door, Valerie looked back at them seeing as they were much closer to the door now she went through and as they followed, Will suddenly fell to the floor causing Martin to fall too as Sam felt the two of them jerked out of his grip he looked down and saw a zombie crawling on the floor, the one Valerie had shot but apparently didn't kill, it had a grip on Will's leg as it pulled itself closer to him, it sank it's teeth into his leg and he let out a cry of pain. Sam watched in horror as he saw more zombies fall on top of Will who desperately tried to fend them off with his hand pushing against one only for another to grab it and bite down tearing off some of his fingers, He looked at Sam and reached his other hand out, his eyes pleading for help. Martin went to grab it but Sam grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him into the other room before closing the door watching a zombie go to Will's throat as the door shut only for a brief moment could they hear screams before it went silent save for the chewing sounds and the groans of the zombies still walking around right on the other side. Valerie who had been standing there covering her mouth with her hand looked at Martin. Martin's gaze was locked onto Sam, his eyes wide. "Come on." Sam said reaching for Martin's hand but pulled away. They stood there for a moment looking at each other, Martin started walking up the stairs towards a door waiting at the top. "Martin!" Sam called but Martin didn't stop Sam swore under his breath and followed.

When they reached the top they opened the door to see another hallway though the walls looked like this room was used for storage as there was a wine rack along the wall the three of them looked around and saw the security guards moving slowly around the corner as Becca stood there once she saw them she waved them over and they followed. They walked along the walls until they got to a bend and peeking around the corner they saw the rest of the group. "Oh thank goodness you're..." Cindy trailed off. "Where's Will?" She asked taking a few steps forward, she looked around the corner and Martin looked at Sam giving him the angriest look Sam had ever seen Martin give someone before exhaling slowly and going on ahead. Sam wanted to say something but he just turned away. "He didn't make it." Sam said and Cindy looked at him, her eyes wet with tears. "I'm sorry they grabbed him and..." Sam didn't know how to finish that as Cindy covered her mouth before choking out a sob, she then went towards the rest of the group. Sam stood there for a minute as Valerie slowly passed by him, her eyes sad as she turned her gaze toward the floor. Sam turned around and walked towards the group too.

Tyrone was the one pointed out that they needed to keep moving. "And where do we go from here? We can't just wait in here for those things to break in, which they will by the way. Persistent assholes." January asked and everyone turned towards Cindy."Um, uh. Oh! Oh we can cross the roofs. To the apartment next door. Jack the um owner said some kid's tore away some of the fence and they would jump across and cause trouble then head back, maybe he didn't have it fixed yet." She said with a sniff as she went towards a shutter surrounded by crates and kegs. Sam and Tyrone went over and lifted it and once everyone was through they closed it, it led to yet another stair way but at the top was a door that read 'Roof' on it so hopefully they would be home free soon. Opening the door gave a brief gust of cold night air where before Sam was grateful for it, now it just sent a chill down his back as he could heard the screams of people across the city, in the distance a building had flames bursting out of the side. "Oh my God." Becca said as the group looked at the scene before them. "Jeez and I thought the lab sucked." January said wryly before she walked ahead the others gradually following.

The sound of coughing drew there attention to the security guard who was being held up by his friend. "Whoa easy Bob." The other man said as he leaned Bob against the wall. "Mark... I'm sorry but I don't think I should go any further." He said with a strained breath Mark shook his head. "Stop talking like that, you're just tired. We'll get you out of here-" Bob raised his hand pushing Mark back a little. "No you don't understand Mark... I'm no different from them. I can feel the hunger..." Everyone grew silent as Sam looked at Tyrone both knew what he meant as they remembered the other test subjects, the ones who turned, the ones who didn't make it. "So let me die... While my conscious remains!" And in a quick motion he pulled Mark's gun out of his hand pushing him away and pointing the gun to his head and fired, causing Cindy to let out a loud scream as the others cried out or gasped in shock, Sam stared wide eyed at the corpse of the man slumped over a red puddle forming around his head. Mark went to his side. "Bob!.." He stared at the body and tears ran down his face. "Oh Bob..." He looked at the dead man gripping his jacket tightly as he let out a loud wail. Sam watched as Tyrone slowly reached over grabbed Mark's shoulder causing the older man to flinch. Everyone else quickly moving away from the body.

Sam stood with everyone next to the fence that led to a raised walkway that was for accessing the large neon sign of Jack's bar Bob's body lay far enough away for them to push it out of their minds at least a little. He looked at the waitress who cried softly, then to the cop who was sitting on a box a hand gripping his hair as he stared at the ground wide-eyed. He looked over at his friends who although they seemed shook up they were relatively used to seeing people die. Remembering how there used to be a lot more people in the testing area with them maybe close to twenty people, now there was only six. Sam shook his head trying to forget the faces of the two people he just saw die. He didn't know them, he didn't need to mourn for them. He glanced over at the six who he did know. "All that matters is that we get out of this." He thought, he was about to say something when a megaphone caught his ear and he and everyone else listened for it. "Attention citizens of Raccoon city. Due to the riots in progress, we are sealing off the area, if you do not evacuate to this point immediately we can not guarantee your safety." The message repeated and Sam realized it was coming from a nearby street, he looked around the group and saw that they all had similar expressions and he knew they had to hurry down to the streets below.

Without the right weapons to fight their way down through the zombies they knew they had to go with the plan suggested earlier of jumping to the apartment building next door. Everyone watched as Cindy opened the gate leading to the raised platform that had a walkway that followed the back of the Jack's bar sign, they followed it until they saw a large gap between the buildings about a 4 foot distance on the other side was the open roof of the apartment building that was about 5 feet taller. Cindy was right and there was a section of the fence missing where the edge of the walkway and the apartment roof were closest. Everyone exchanged looks before Sam dared a look over the edge. A drop straight down to the alley below, counting all the stairs and floors in his mind, they had to be close to four stories up fall from here would probably be fatal. Sam swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked back to the others, his face didn't seem to reassure them. "So who's first?" He asked and everyone looked around before Tyrone stepped forward. "I'll go over first, then I'll be ready to help anyone else." He said with a little less confidence than Sam preferred but still he stepped aside leaving enough room for Tyrone to run past him. After a moment of psyching himself up, Tyrone took a few steps from the edge before sprinting towards it and leaping to the other side, Sam held his breath as Tyrone hit the edge of the other side his body leaned forward as he pulled himself up in a quick motion. He stood up and turned around taking a step away from the edge as he let out a breath. "S-see? piece of cake." He said and everyone exchanged looks. "Alright. I'm next" Becca said as she took a several steps back before she made a dash and jumped across.

Sam took a sharp breath in as Becca flew across slamming hard against the other side as her upper body just barely made it into the other roof, her arms scrambling to find something to grab onto as she looked like she'd loose her grip any minute. Tyrone quickly reached down and grabbed her by the arm pulling her up safely onto the roof. She looked back her eyes wide as she pushed her hair out of her face. "Piece of cake." She said breathlessly as she walked further onto the roof. Next was the cop, as Kevin gave himself a slap on the cheek, he shook the nerves out of his legs as he jumped in place for a second. "Holy shit this is gonna suck." As he ran and jumped making it over with relative ease. "Oh that wasn't so bad." He said as Tyrone patted him on the back as he walked past. Valerie looked over the edge before backing up. "Uh maybe you go ahead." She said as January looked at everyone before stepping forward. "Oh man now I really wish I stayed in track in high school." She said as she prepared herself. "You were in track?" Martin asked and January tilted her head gave him a look before she turned back and sprinted towards the edge. As she jumped Tyrone reached out one hand while the other was hanging onto Becca who was hanging onto Kevin. January grabbed it and was pulled easily to safety. "Okay, who's next?" She asked turning around. Martin slowly inched his way to the edge before taking a long step back. "Mmm nope don't do so well with heights, you go." He patted Mark and Valerie on the back at the same time, they looked at each other then Martin who was faced away from them and was crouched down seemingly catching his breath.

Sam went to Martin's side kneeling down. "Hey are you okay?" He asked and Martin turned away. "Oh yeah, fine." He said quickly and Sam turned his head and watched as Valerie made her jump. "Hey come on, you can make this jump, it's not that far." Sam said watching as Mark walked to the edge and peered down. "I don't need your pep talk right now." Martin said his voice raising and Sam turned to look at him again. "Hey man what's wrong?" He asked and Martin stood up. "Nothing's wrong!" He said and Sam stood too trying to look him in the eyes but Martin kept turning his head away. "Hey what the hell man, what's up with you?" Sam asked and Martin turned to face him his brow narrowed the same look as earlier, it wasn't the most intimidating face in fact it kind of reminded Sam of some small animal trying to look threatening but the feeling it gave him to see Martin look at him with such an angry expression made him flinch. Martin turned towards the gap and after Tyrone with the help of Kevin pulled Mark up and over they all looked at Martin as he started to run towards the gap and away from Sam who watched, a hurt feeling in his chest, but it was quickly replaced with fear as something flew past just above Martin's head knocking him off balance as he neared the edge of the roof. Everything seemed to slow down as Sam felt his legs moving towards Martin, who had tried to stop but the momentum he had carried him forward, his hand grabbing the fence that was still along the side, fingers gripping the chain link as his body tumbled over the edge. Tyrone reaching in vain for the boy. Sam sprinted over and quickly fell to the floor sliding to a stop as he reach forward and grabbed Martin's wrist just before he let go of the fence.

Sam locked eyes with Martin, who looked terrified. "I got you!" Sam called. "D-don't let go!" Martin cried out as his other hand looked for something to grab onto, blood trickling down the side of his face. What sounded like a caw from a bird was heard overhead, Sam tried to take a glance up but when he didn't see anything he focused on Martin. "Just hang on!" He said Martin put on a scared smile. "Great plan Sam!" He said his voice cracking. A gunshot came from somewhere. "What happened!?" Valerie called from the other roof. "It's coming back!" Kevin cried out. "What's going on up there!?" Sam thought as he tried to pull Martin up, when he suddenly felt something on his back. "What the hell!" Sam turned his head back to see a black bird perched on his back, it began to peck at his back pinching harshly between his shoulder blades. Sam let out a hiss of pain as his grip loosened on Martin's wrist causing the mechanic to yelp. Sam seeing this reached down with his other hand to grab and make sure he didn't loose his grip. "Someone shoot it!" Sam shouted as the bird now pecked his hood yanking on it. "It's too close, we'll hit you!" Tyrone called back as something wizzed past Sam's head and hit the metal walkway he laid on. Followed by another this time it hit Sam's calf delivering a sharp pain. "Ow!" He said as he tried to shake the bird off of him, but after he shook a distressed Martin too, he stopped. "Sorry! Hang on!" Something flew past this time he heard the bird squawk as whatever hit it bounced off and landed next to Sam. Taking the opportunity he gave a grunt as he pulled up Martin, once he was close enough he reached for the edge pulling himself up. Once he was sure Martin was able to climb up the rest of the way Sam turned back to the bird and saw several small rocks and pieces of bricks, along with the bird flapping one wing as the other more or less flailed moving closer to Sam, who quickly kicked the bird away right under the railing and the neon sign, right off the roof.

"What the fuck was that!?" Mark asked looking back. Sam shook his head. Birds. He hadn't even considered zombie birds. When he turned back he saw Martin clinging to the railing along the sides of the walkway. "Hey." Sam got closer. "Are you okay?" He asked setting a hand on Martin's shoulder shaking him gently. Martin who seemed a little dazed blinked then looked at Sam and slowly nodded. Sam gave a weak smile then lifted Martin to his feet. "You guys okay?" Tyrone asked and Sam looked back. "Yeah, just keep an eye out for more of those things!" Sam said as he pulled Martin away from the edge. "Think you can make another go at it?" He said to which Martin quickly looked at him. "What!?" He asked and Sam pulled him in close. "I know man, but we have to get going." He said and Martin looked back at Tyrone who stood there with an arm ready to reach for him. "I-I can't do this.. Maybe you go first?" He asked and Sam shook his head. "No I'll be right behind you, If you fall again one of us will catch you got it?" Sam looked at Martin as he motioned to Tyrone. Martin looked back and forth between the two then exhaled. "Okay but everyone needs to keep an eye for more birds." He said bringing a hand to his head, Sam reached up and with his sleeve wiped off the small trail of blood that was just above his right eyebrow. "Got it." Sam smiled and Martin turned back towards the gap and let out a long breath as he bounced a little. "Okay Martin, You can do this!" Martin told himself before he took a step forward then quickly turned away. "Hmmm!" He let out a noise of frustration before turning back and sprinting towards the other building, as he got closer to the edge he let out a loud grunt as he jumped with all his might almost plowing right into Tyrone who caught the smaller man. "There you see? It's all fine!" Tyrone told him as Martin looked around at the others who patted him on the back as he took a step away from edge a shocked smile on his face. Sam smiled then glanced around for more birds, then made his run and jump, his jump was lacking but thankfully Tyrone caught him by the arm and he made it over to the rest of the group. "Oh my God are you guys okay!?" Valerie said looking the two over. "Yeah I'm fine." Sam said lightly batting her hands away. Martin on the other hand simply let out a sigh. "Never again, okay?" He said as they made their way into the apartments through the roof access, taking the elevator to the first floor it seemed they could finally make their way to the street.

Once in the cramp elevator Sam had a horribly sense of dread come over him. "What if these doors open and we're back in that horrible place." His breath picked up and he felt his head start to spin. "But we got away! We were free!" He looked around wide eyed the walls were beginning to close in and spots of black started to appear, a dull voice echoed and he couldn't make out the words. "Sam!" A loud voice called out and Sam looked for it's source seeing Becca's face above him the light behind her head making her seem like some kind of angel as he looked around. Everyone was leaning in worried expressions on their faces. "Wha..? What's going on?" He asked as he realized he was on the floor. "You just keeled over darlin'. Scared us half to death!" Becca said as Sam felt someone lift him up. "You okay? I mean no obviously but what's going on?" Martin asked and Sam shook his head. "I uh I dunno guess, I was just kinda uh.." He couldn't find the right word as the door pinged meaning it would open. "Overwhelmed?" Valerie offered as they walked out of the elevator onto the first floor, Kevin and Mark at the front slowly moving around the corner guns drawn. "Uh yeah I'm fine now though." Sam said as he felt a hand leave his shoulder. Though he wasn't sure if that were true. And from the looks everyone gave him, they weren't either.

When they made it out the front door they saw a single police officer with short blonde hair standing behind a police car using it as cover, he stood up to shoot at a few of the many zombies that walked down the street in their direction before he ducked down to reload. "Raymond!" Kevin called out causing the man to flinch as he turned towards the group who moved further into the street, then he relaxed a little. "Well shit, I thought you were a goner for sure Kevin!" He said with a smile as Kevin moved closer taking aim in the same direction as the zombies. "Who are they?" Raymond asked looking at the group. "Bunch of civilians. Don't worry about them, they can handle themselves, what's the plan?" He asked and Raymond pointed back further down the street opposite of the zombies. "There's a truck back that way, get the civilians in there and we'll head towards the station!" He said as he tossed the keys to Kevin. "On it, Come on everyone!" Kevin shouted and the group rushed towards the truck. The street behind was filled with zombies that moved towards them several coming out of the bar where the six celebrated their escape from Umbrella. When they reached the armored truck Kevin hopped into the driver seat and started it. Tyrone who reached the truck next quickly opened the back of it and the group piled in. Sam heard the police officer behind them cry out, when he looked back he saw a zombie had grabbed Raymond by his shoulders before pulling back and then biting the side of his neck. The truck suddenly jerked to life before speeding backwards towards Raymond. "Get him in here!" Kevin shouted from the front as the truck stopped just a few feet away from the struggle. Sam watched. "We should just leave! He's already been bit!" He thought as he stood in the door of the truck. Raymond grabbed the zombie by the neck and pushed it away as much as possible. "Move!" January said as she shoved Sam aside rushing out with Tyrone and Valerie. Tyrone and January went and pulled the zombie off of Raymond, shoving it away from them it fell to the ground. Valerie then fired two shots one hitting it in the head the zombie stopped moving, then they helped Raymond into the truck, closing the doors they sped off.

"Holy shit!" January said with a laugh as she leaned against the interior of the truck. "I can't believe we made it!" Valerie cheered as she looked at Raymond who was holding a first aid kit that was in the truck. Smiles started to spread around the group, Sam couldn't help but smirk too as he breathed a sigh of relief as he looked over his friends. All except Cindy who had her hands folded on her lap and was looking at the floor, and Mark who had his arms crossed a frown fixed on his face. Sam noticed this and felt his own smile fade as he looked away, spotting Martin who made eye contact for a split second before Martin moved to sit next to Cindy. "I uh, I'm sorry about your friends." He said catching Mark's attention. "Both of you." He said looking at Mark not meeting his gaze and the mood in the truck shifted. Sam watched as everyone seemed to be handling the situation in a more somber way. The silence went on and Sam glanced at Raymond who held a hand to the bite on his neck before looking at it grimacing at the blood before Valerie put a large bandage over causing him to wince before smiling at her. "Thanks." He said as Valerie nodded before she looked away from him, her face growing sad. Sam knew why too, except for the six of them anyone else who got bit would turn into one of those things. Sam looked at Raymond who got up and moved towards the front of the truck leaning into the small window to say something to Kevin. "It's only a matter of time." He thought as his friends all shared a look knowing what would eventually happen to Raymond.

The drive went on for several long minutes before Sam started feeling restless and looked around and saw Martin, he wanted to go back to this morning when they were in his room, aside from it being in the testing facility it was relatively nice. He looked Martin up and down, and started to wish they could go back to the night before. The truck suddenly skidded to a halt sending almost everyone to the floor. "What the hell!?" Becca shouted as she looked towards the front. "Hey asshole learn to drive!" January yelled as she pulled Cindy to her feet. "There's... Something in the road." Kevin said in a quiet voice. Everyone crowded around the front of small window leading to the front seat, all of them struggling to see what had made Kevin stop so suddenly. Sam thought he was dreaming for a second as he saw what blocked their path. In front of them illuminated by the truck headlights was an Elephant, bloody with several chunks of skin missing, it's intestines were hanging out slightly from a large gash on it's side. It stood there, it's massive head swaying side to side before it looked towards the truck, turning it's body until it faced the truck. "Kevin, get us out of here." Raymond said quietly. The Elephant started walking towards the truck. Kevin put the truck into reverse and started backing up. The Elephant started to pick up speed moving to a jog before it was in a full run. "Get us out of here now!" Raymond shouted as the zombie elephant was a stampede all it's own. Kevin stomped on the gas and the truck was in reverse at full speed. Sam watched as the elephant was starting to loose ground. Everyone in the truck watching, and everyone raising their voices as they watched the elephant raise it's trunk and let out bellowing cry that sounded like the mix of a normal elephant and something out a nightmare. Suddenly a crash came from behind as the truck swerved side to side before skidding off the street breaking a light pole and then crashing into the side of a something, one of the back doors bending inwards slightly. "Shit! It's stuck!" Kevin called out as he stepped on the gas the sound of the wheels skidding underneath the truck and the smell of rubber burning weren't a good sign, the elephant still maintaining it's speed turned slightly to keep on it's collision course. "C'mon c'mon move it!" January said as she hit the seat of the truck with each word "Holy crap it's gonna flatten us!" Martin cried out. "Oh my God what do we do!?" Cindy shook Sam's should as she looked ahead in horror. Kevin looked down switching the truck to drive before slamming on the gas again, after a moment of it not going anywhere it suddenly jolted forward straight towards the elephant, Kevin turned the steering wheel as hard and fast as he could, narrowly avoiding the elephant as it sped forwards turning quickly to the left then right trying to regain control of the vehicle, everyone in the back thrown to the floor as the truck swerved all around until a violent stop and a crash sound came from ahead.

Sam's vision spun as he looked around, it felt like he had hit his head against something, or someone now that he saw everyone in a pile trying to untangle themselves from each other. Suddenly the back of the truck opened up and Kevin stood there. "Everyone out!" He shouted, Sam could see the elephant behind him start to turn around to face them again. "You heard the man, out!" Mark said getting to his feet, Sam got up as everyone started to exit out of the truck. When he got out and looked around, they were on an unfamiliar sight of a large gate, Kevin had crashed into and large concrete walls enclosed whatever the gate led to. "Shit, here they come!" January called out and Sam looked over and saw the street starting to fill with zombies. "That thing called them over here!" Tyrone pointed at the elephant that was starting it's charge again. "The big fella or the little guys? We gotta pick one?" Becca said as the group watched as they were cornered by the crashed truck. Sam didn't like either option, especially with the lack of guns. "Hey over here!" Raymond called catching everyone's attention towards the gate that the truck crashed into. One of the large metal doors was bent inwards leaving enough room for someone to slip in between the doors as Raymond proved, sliding through the slightly ajar gate. Sam turned back towards the elephant, then towards the zombies making their way closer. "Come on it's our best bet!" He called and went to the gate, sliding through, the others followed slipping through one at a time. The last one to try and get through was Mark "Oh lord." He said as he approached it looking down at his large belly. "Come on soldier, suck in that gut!" Kevin said as he took aim at the closest zombie. Mark almost getting a running start slammed in between the gates getting stuck for a moment before falling to the other side with a heavy breath, as the thundering footsteps of the elephant stopped right at the truck followed by another loud cry it slammed into the truck lifting it with it's grossly misshapen tusks high before the truck fell against the gate on it's side. Everyone backed away from the gate. Sam watched as the truck was slammed again shaking the gate more. "We should really get going now!" Martin said as the group of ten started to back away.

Turning and running away from the gate Sam started to take in his surroundings as he realized they were in the Raccoon City Zoo. The group ran past a few empty enclosures to the end of a long road turning around the corner before they stopped hopefully far enough away from their newest danger. "Holy shit and a half!" January choked out as she exhaled. "I think we got away." Cindy said trying to catch her breath and look around. "Uh guys I don't think we should stay here." Martin said and as everyone looked towards him they saw he was pointing at something. Sam followed his finger and saw in a large pool of blood running into the drains along the visitor roads was a tiger or at least what used to be one, it was torn to pieces, missing it's head. "I say we wait until those things leave and then we go back out the way we came." Kevin said as he turned back towards the front gate. Suddenly the sound of crunching metal and breaking glass caught all of their attention as they looked back towards the entrance. The elephant had set one of it's large feet on top of the truck and was using it to climb over the gate. "Oh no..." Cindy said as they all watched as the elephant lifted another foot then in an unsettling fashion stretched it's front leg setting it on top of the gate shaking it quite a bit until it bent and and lowered against the ground slightly. Sam watched in horror as the zombie elephant slowly climbed over the gate until just it's hind legs were left when it pulled those over it clumsily crashed to the ground flailing it's trunk wildly. "Everyone we should get going before it sees us." Mark said and the group eagerly obliged as they ran further into the zoo, out of sight of a new massive terror that followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They just can't catch a break huh? Unsure if I'll add more outbreak characters but anyway hope you enjoy.


	3. Trip to the zoo.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seeking refuge in a place once known for bringing smiles and wonder, now only brings a fear of what's to come the group shall have to overcome their newest challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ATTENTION: Due to an embarrassing mistake Rayman's name was changed to Raymond, thank you for your patience and please enjoy the story.

The silence of the night was unsettling, the only noise coming from the sound of shoes scuffing on the concrete road, spotting a building coming closer to them as they ran. "Everyone: this way!" Tyrone said as he ran ahead and up the long steps leading to the door, he opened the door glancing inside before he held it open for everyone else, closing it once the entire group was inside, Sam looked around taking in the new scene for a brief moment, spotting a waiting area with a bench and a tiny pink slide that looked like an elephant, turned to look back at the door as if it would broke down any second. "Oh dear God." Mark said as he huffed out a breath, sitting on the bench. "Please tell me this isn't happening." Valerie said as she fell to her knees on the floor. "That thing is freakin huge, how are we supposed to kill it!?" January asked crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. A silence fell over them. Sam walked towards a desk and lifted himself onto it turning to face the others as he sat down. "Well whatever we do, I say this is as good a place as any to catch our breath." Kevin said walking around the office.

Sam looked around more thoroughly now seeing a door that led somewhere further into the building, a chair with wheels next to the desk that Martin flopped into glancing at Sam he gave a brief smile. Sam tried to return it but he wasn't sure if Martin saw, or if he even looked like he was smiling in the first place. "Hey uh... Hey." Martin said as he looked at the floor. Sam turned to face him. "Something on your mind?" He asked with a tired expression. "I just wanted to say sorry for earlier, when I was acting like a jerk." Martin said rubbing the back of his neck. Sam sat up a little. "Yeah I didn't want to bring it up but what was up man? Did I do something wrong?" He asked and Martin looked up then over to the group. Sam followed his gaze and saw it landed on Cindy who was looking out the window biting her nails. "Um come on let's head in here." He whispered as he gestured to the door. "Uh, okay. Um hey we'll check in here for a minute." Sam said and a few people nodded as He opened the door glancing in, seeing the coast was clear he walked in with Martin and quietly closed the door. The inner office they found themselves in had a terminal on the side that had a few flashing lights and monitors. Another door was across the room, the bronze label read Mr. Raccoon's office. "So what's up?" Sam asked quietly as he searched for anything useful. Martin was quiet as he trailed behind Sam. "Just uh, thanks for saving me. You know when I fell off the roof." Sam glanced back at him. "Of course, you know I always got your back." He said seeing Martin just looking around seeming to refuse to meet Sam's gaze. "Yeah I know." He said quietly and Sam turned back to face Martin. "Martin, what is going on?" He asked placing a hand on Martin's shoulder who looked him in the eyes. After a brief moment of silence he spoke. "When those zombies grabbed that Will guy, I thought I could save him. Then you pulled me away, and that didn't make any sense. I mean you're always pulling our butts out of the fire! So why did you leave him behind?" Martin said and Sam felt hurt. "He had been bit, They were all over him!" He said and Martin turned away throwing his hands up. "I know! But I don't know! It reminded me of that place. Daniel's stupid voice, those monsters, Alex and her stupid viruses." Martin said sounding angry as he walked over to the terminal. "I just didn't want anyone else to die!" He said raising his voice as he punched the wall with a light thud. "Ooooow." Martin whined as he held his fist.

Sam resisted the urge to smirk as he walked over the mechanic. "I'm sorry. I don't want anyone else to die either." He said getting closer to Martin. "I thought you might leave one of us behind like him." Martin said and Sam flinched. "What?" He asked hurt by his words. "But I know you wouldn't leave us." Martin said walking closer to Sam. "Of course not! You guys are my buds! I would never leave you behind!" Sam said and Martin smiled. "You're our bud too." Martin said. "I'm sorry I blamed you for what happened to Will. I get that you did what you had too." He said and Sam smiled back, the two stood their smiling at each other, noticing for the first time they had a moment to themselves, getting closer Sam wrapped his arms around Martin, catching the younger man off guard. "D-dude! Now's not really the time!" Martin said even though Martin already had a hand on Sam's ass. "I know but we can have a second right?" Sam said as he kissed Martin's neck. Martin let out a sigh. "I mean as long as we don't get eaten by an elephant." He said as he gave Sam a small squeeze. Sam pushed Martin back and lifted him onto the computer.

The monitor behind Martin suddenly lit up catching Sam's attention as a low beep startling them both. "What happened?" Martin asked hopping off the keyboard he had sat on. "I don't know!" Sam said looking over the terminal. "Restore power?" He said reading the words on the screen. "Hey that's good right?" Martin said and Sam nodded. "Turning on the main power would be really nice! Your ass just bailed us outta this mess!" Sam said and Martin seemed delighted as his upper half turned to look at his own backside. "My ass saved the day!" He said and Sam pressed the 'restore' icon, after a moment a blank space text appears. "Shit it's asking for a password. Stupid information box!" Sam said as he turned towards Martin. "Your ass wouldn't happen to know what the password is would it?" He asked and Martin looked down again, after a moment of silence he turned back to Sam. "Sadly, my ass doesn't have ALL the answers." He said as he looked towards the door with the bronzed nameplate on it. "Maybe Mr. Raccoon has the password written down somewhere?" He said as reached for the doorknob. Sam watched Martin slowly opened the door before it slammed shut. Martin looked back at Sam wide eyed, then back towards the door. "Hello?" Martin called out and Sam's own eyes grew wide as he moved closer towards the door. After a moment of silence Martin called out again. "Hey we won't hurt you!" He yelled. "What's going on?" Sam turned to see Becca walking into the room. "Someone's in here." Martin said as he tried to open the door again, turning the door knob and pushing with a grunt. "N-no one's in here!" A voice called out. Sam couldn't make out the voice but it sounded feminine. "Here, move over." Sam said as he walked past Martin setting his hand on the doorknob turning it. "Okay we'll just be leaving now." Sam said as he leaned back before he slammed his shoulder against the door.

Sam felt what resistance Martin had dealt with give way as a shriek rang out in the room as the door flung open. A slim figure scurried behind the desk in the middle of the small room. "Go away!" A voice cracked as something was thrown towards the door Sam watched as a stapler hit the wall a few feet away. "Hey calm down." Sam said watching as lamp was thrown at them but didn't get very far before the electric cord pulled against the outlet on the wall making it fall harmlessly to the floor. Becca walked in now. "Everything all right?" She asked. "Um I think so? Maybe we're under attack?" Martin said as whoever hid behind the desk raised a sharpened pencil like a knife. Becca tried to peer over the desk "Listen darlin, we ain't here to hurt ya." She said and a mess of curly black hair slowly lifted to peek over the desk. "A-are you guys the rescue team?" a woman slowly lifted her head peeking over the desk. The three exchanged looks. "No sorry darlin." Becca said and Sam jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "We just came in here to get away from those things." The woman slowly stood up. "Well you don't want to be here! The animals are going crazy!" She said fiddling with the bottom of her jacket, Sam could see the small letters that read 'Employee' on her chest. Her figure was slim with extremely dark skin and she had black curly hair tied back in a ponytail, shorts and brown boots. "C-crazy? crazy how?" Martin asked although there was a good guess as to why. "They just started freaking out and then they broke out of their cages and, and just started mauling everyone. And when we tried to leave the zoo, the people started attacking us!" She said. Sam shook his head and walked back towards the door everyone else was waiting on the other side of.

January looked up as Sam entered the room. "Hey you guys done sucking face?" She asked with a grin and Sam stuck his tongue at her. "Hey y'all we met a new friend." Becca said as she entered the room with the woman they found. "This here's Kelly, Kelly this is our little ragtag group of go getters." Becca said with a smile as the group began to crowd around. "Hi uh pleasure to meet you." Kelly said. "I uh actually think now's a good time to get better introduced." Raymond said and everyone looked at him. "Uh I'll start, I'm officer Douglas Raymond and it's a pleasure to meet you all, I'm a police officer and uh." He seemed to trail off as he thought of what to say, when Kevin stepped forward setting a hand on Raymond's shoulder. "And I'm Officer Kevin Raymond, They like to call me the fun cop, so you guys can too." Cindy gave a small scoff as Mark just shook his head. "Uh okay if we're doing this uh, Hi my name's Mark Wilkins." He said as he turned towards Cindy. "Oh! Um Yeah my name is Cindy it's nice to meet you all." She said with a small wave as she looked around. Everyone now standing in a circle turned towards the person standing next to Cindy which was January. "Hey name's January, call me Jan everyone else does." She said still leaning against the wall. "Me next? Okay I'm Valerie." She said and Sam looked at her before looking around. "Name's Sam, leave any heavy lifting to me!" He said flexing slightly as he crossed his arms. "Sure we will sweety." Becca said slapping Sam lightly on the back. "I'm Becca, Pleasure to meet y'all" She said with a smile. "Uh Hey I'm Martin." Martin said, and January gave a chuckle. "Tell em your last name!" She said and Martin glared at her. "I'd rather not." He said not breaking eye contact. "It's Sandwich." January said with a smile as Martin threw his hands up with a groan. There were a few chuckles before Tyrone put his arm around Martin. "Ah don't worry little buddy, as many times as you've gotten us out of scraps, I'm proud to know Martin Sandwich." He said and Martin smiled a little as the other four escapees nodded along. "I'm Tyrone Henry, not to brag but I'm kinda the leader of these guys." he said and Martin rolled his eyes as the others laughed at Tyrone's words. Raymond didn't seem to smile though. "Henry why does that name sound familiar?" He said in a quiet voice.

Kevin moved to sit on the bench next to Cindy. "Hey you guys seem pretty close, how long you been stuck together?" He asked gesturing towards the group of six. "Uh well we were all kidnapped around when?... July?" Martin asked and everyone gave varying nods. Sam had to think it might've been July when he arrived and they were stuck in that testing facility for about two months. "Kidnapped? What do you mean?" Raymond asked and the others had looks of concern on their faces. "We weren't kidding earlier." Valerie said as she looked towards Kevin and Cindy. "We really were taken by Umbrella, they used us in these scary tests where they were seeing-" January stepped in front of Valerie cutting her off. "Look all you need to know is Umbrella screwed us and probably started this whole thing." Sam nodded as Cindy covered her mouth with her hands a look of horror on her face, Kevin looked confused, and Mark gave a look of disbelief before turning his attention out the window. "I remember now." Raymond said getting everyone's attention. "Tyrone Henry a firefighter who died in the line of duty." Tyrone narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. "What?" He asked, Raymond shook his head. "I remember, someone in the fire department told me a friend of his was called out to a fire, then he went missing, they said he died but never found a body. I thought it was strange but chief Irons told me to drop it." He said and January scoffed. "Yeah that's cuz old Irons was in Umbrella's fat pocket." She said and Raymond looked towards her his eyes narrowing. "What do you mean?" He asked and January pushed off of the wall and walked closer. "I'm saying your boss was a dirty asshole, That's how nobody knows about Umbrella's shady deals." She said raising her voice. "That's a very serious accusation, and you better have proof to back it up." Raymond said and January who was now standing right in front of him looked up at the just barely taller officer. "I would have proof but those lab coats took it when they threw me into their little workshop of horrors!" She practically shouted back. "Do you really expect me to believe that you were in a secret lab or whatever you're talking about?" Raymond shouted back tensing up. Now everyone was standing up Kevin stepping closer towards the two prepared to act if something happened, Cindy back away from the argument and Mark walked over to them. "Hey you two, lock it up!" He said at a level but harsh voice. "We should ditch these guys!" January called back towards the others. "They could work for Umbrella too." She said and Sam had to agree, if they worked for Umbrella he didn't want them around especially if they have guns. Becca walked up and put her hand on January's arm. "Come on Jan, we can't-" A loud crash interrupted her as the wall beside the arguing group shattered, bits of the broken wall scattered everywhere as a loud elephant cry rang out through the room the trunk of the zombie elephant swinging wildly shouts and screams fill the room.

Sam looked wide eyed as the elephant shoved his massive head into the side of the building, chaos ensuing as everyone rushed away. The elephant's trunk swung, smacking hard into the side of Mark and then swinging to the other side slamming into January's back throwing both of them to the ground, The elephant looking around the room moved it's truck to grab at anything around. Everyone scrambling to get away from it. "Sam gimme a hand!" Martin called as he reached down grabbing Mark's hand pulling him away from the hole in the wall and the monster that made it. Sam was hesitant, before he made eye contact with Martin and rushed over grabbing the older man's other arm, when suddenly he felt his leg pulled out from under him towards the elephant. Sam let out a cry as he kicked at the elephant's trunk that was wrapped around his leg. "Sam!" Martin cried out as he helped lift Mark who pulled out his gun firing at the elephant's head not doing any visible damage to it. Sam kicked hard as he was pulled towards the hole in the wall reaching out and grabbing at anything in reach, which was nothing more than ruble from the destroyed wall. Cindy rushed over and grabbed Sam's hand and pulled. "H-hold on!" She said just before she was effortlessly pulled out along with him, the two gave a cry of surprise as the elephant pulled them out of the building before dropping them to the ground. Sam rolled along the pavement, he let out a grunt of pain as he looked around spotting Cindy next to him, her legs and arms scraped and she slowly got back up to her feet. Gunfire sounding from the building above, Sam looked up and saw the elephant slowly turn it's head towards the two, small spurts of blood appearing along it's head. "Handguns won't do much to a fucking elephant!" Sam said as he looked behind him and he and Cindy ran the opposite direction, the elephant rushed towards them and Sam felt the earth rumble as he bolted in the direction he picked spotting a wooden gate in the distance he looked over and saw Cindy running along beside him, her face filled with fear as he slowly out paced her, he saw her eyes well up with tears. "If I pushed her down then maybe it would stop to-." He thought then felt his heart skip a a beat, scared of the idea that he pushed out of his mind. "Come on!" Sam said as he grabbed Cindy by the hand rushing towards the gate, seeing a smaller door along the side of the wooden gate probably for people while the larger wooden gates were for vehicles, large animals, and crowds on busy days. Sam rushed over and opened the door practically shoving Cindy through then went through himself and slammed it shut as if that would stop it. "Come on!" Sam said as he turned, he and Cindy rushed further away from the elephant as it slammed into the gate behind them.

Sam and Cindy ran towards a large metal gate. "Maybe we can hide in here." Cindy said as they both looked back and saw the elephant slowly climb over the wooden gate that separated them in the distance. "Yeah let's go." Sam said as he walked towards another smaller door on the side of the gate. "I mean we could stay here and get stomped by dumbo back there but I'd rather just hang out somewhere else." Cindy nodded as they walked through the door. On the other side was an overturned tractor and several crates of what looked like animal feed lay scattered along the path. The two walked forward slowly, finding themselves in a large plaza, gift shops and food stalls had shutters closed, sealing them off. Two large lion statues across from each other in the center of the plaza though they weren't facing directly towards each other. Blood smeared along the ground trails of it leading in several different directions. "Oh my..." Cindy said quietly in a shaking voice as she clung to Sam's jacket as the two slowly walked past a bloody mess of gore that judging by the torn clothes and the shoe laying next to it used to be a person. A distant scream startled both of them. "What was that?" Cindy asked as she looked around frantically. Sam slowly scanned the plaza. "Let's hope it wasn't someone we know." Sam said as he turned back around, taking in the plaza, when Cindy started to tap his shoulder. "Sam, Sam look!" Cindy said pointing towards the far end of the plaza. Sam looked over seeing a metal shutter. "What? What about it?" He asked squinting at the shutters and Cindy shook his arm a little. "No behind the shutter." She said and Sam noticed what she was talking about on the other. The shutter she was pointing at was the open entrance to the zoo, on the other side of that was a tram station. "If we got on that we could get out of here!" She said and the two made their way over to shutters. When they reached it they grabbed it and lifted, but the shutters wouldn't budge. "Shit it won't open." Sam said as he took a step back, Cindy looked around. "Maybe there's a switch or lever?" She said looking around before she turned back towards Sam, He turned towards her noticing her eyes wide with terror. "Sam." She said quietly, Sam felt dread as he noticed her gaze was falling on something behind him. "What.. What is it?" He asked fear filling him as he slowly turned around. "I don't think she's noticed us." Cindy said as Sam shifted his gaze behind himself he saw a lioness stalking into the plaza.

Sam and Cindy hunched down sticking close towards the wall. Sam watched the lioness walk around the area, it's face was scratched badly as it was missing an eye, it's body was covered in open wounds, some bite marks along it's hide. "It's a zombie, gotta be." Sam said as he watched it looked around before slowly walking towards the front gate. "Go go go!" Sam whispered to Cindy as they walked along the edge of the plaza away from lioness. Sticking close to the wall Sam noticed a colorful gate that had kid zone painted on it with a cartoon zebra and elephant on it. As they passed it Sam gave the elephant a look. "Fuck you." He mouthed at it. They slowly opened the gate to the kid's area and went inside, quietly opening and closing the wooden gate with a small creak they moved further in. The area had several small colorful benches facing a stage that had props and painted backgrounds on it.

Cindy placed a hand on Sam's arm catching his attention. "Up there." She pointed upwards to an overhead area that looked over the kid's zone. Sam nodded and moved to the ladder leading up towards raised area, he then grabbed the ladder and made his way up. Peaking around the room it looked like a small control room for stage lights and music, another door labeled 'boarding room' was a few feet away, Sam went towards it and went to open it, but the door handle barely moved. "Fuck, it's locked." He said as he turned around and he spotted Cindy looking out over the kid's zone. "This must've been such a nice place before all this." She said and Sam looked out over the area. "I used to come here with my parents when I was a kid." Cindy said and Sam saw her start to tremble. "I remember going to the zoo as a kid, different city though." He said as the happy memory flashed for a split second before he focused on the scene illuminated by the moonlight. "But I'd always run off and get lost, my mom would have to get the employees to call for me over the intercom." Suddenly a brief moment of grief washed over Sam as he thought about his mom, his dad, his family and friends. "Did Umbrella tell some lie about how I died or something? Are they looking for him? Did they miss him?" He felt himself shaking. "We'll get out of here." He said to himself. "We have to." he felt a hand on his arm, and he looked down at Cindy who was staring up at him. "Yeah, we'll get out of here." She said as she leaned in a little. Sam looked at her eyes as they slowly closed. Sam leaned in a little before a voice rang out in his head. "What about Martin?" Sam suddenly leaned back far enough for his balance to be thrown off and he fell and landed on his bottom. "What? What?" He asked looking up at the stunned Cindy. "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry, I just uh with the-" Cindy stammered and Sam stood up. "No uh It's just uh I'm seeing someone... I think? It's uh complicated." Sam said and Cindy covered her face. "Oh my goodness, this is so embarrassing." She said and Sam felt bad for causing the awkwardness. "Sorry, I'm so sorry. Just uh, wanna still be friends?" He said with a feigned grin and Cindy gave a small snort. "Yeah. Friends." She said pulling her hands away from her face. "So um is she one of your friends who was with us earlier?" She asked and Sam nodded as he looked back out across the kid's area. "Um yup, yeppers." There was an awkward silence until Cindy cleared her throat. "Was it Becca, or maybe... Valerie? She seems nice." Sam found a little bit of humor in the fact January wasn't an option. "Um it's uh actually um. It's Sandwich." Sam held his breath. Cindy gave him a confused look. "S-sandwich? L-like... OH! Martin's last name, Sandwich!... Oh Martin, it's Martin!" She said as if she had just solved a puzzle then a look of realization came over her. "Oh you and Martin." She said and Sam avoided eye contact.

"Well I'm sorry I made things weird just uh, heat of the moment. Or something." She said and Sam nodded still more awkward silence. "Well uh, good for you." Cindy said before she walked away or at least as far away as she could get with out leaving the raised room. Sam sat down enjoying a brief moment of rest but he still thought back to the others, hoping they were alright. He took a breath in and then let it out. several minutes passed. "Think they're okay?" Sam asked and after a pause, Cindy let out a sigh. "I hope so." She said as she stared off into the distance. Suddenly a loud click could be heard as the lights brightened and the stage light came to life brightening the entire area, the focus was on the stage that Sam could now see was covered in blood. "Oh I don't like this." Cindy said as they both eyed the stage a feeling of unease crept over them as they watched where the spotlight shone as if waiting for the star of the show to come out. And as if on cue a lioness stalked her way slowly onto the stage from the side that had several large crates and cages obscured by the darkness. The lioness was covered in blood it's paws completely red and her face had been mauled badly.

Sam and Cindy both crouched down to hide behind the light controls. "Shit do you think it saw us?" Sam whispered and Cindy covered her mouth as she shook her head. They both sat there waiting for it to make it's move but it just stood there it's gaze strained on the floor at it's feet. "Hey, look at that!" Cindy said pointing down towards the stage near the lion. Sam slowly lifted his head and peered down towards the stage at the far end of the kid's area. The corpse of a someone lay there, their torso torn to shreds, and was missing it's head. "What the dead guy?" He asked and Cindy shivered. "No n-next to that." She said and Sam looked again now seeing exactly what Cindy was pointing out. A shiny barrel of a rifle of some kind gleamed in the spotlight, it lay next to the body and by proximity the lion. Sam balled his fist. "Damn it, stupid cat." He said as he fell back down behind the light controls. The lion absentmindedly walked around the area letting out a growl in any direction as she limped towards the door leading towards the plaza. Sam looked down at the lion then to the rifle taking note of the large distance between the two. "Stay here." He said as he slowly went down the ladder. "Wait where are you going!?" Cindy whispered to Sam as he descended towards the ground. "Don't worry I'll be right back." Sam whispered back before he slowly lowered himself to the ground slowly setting his foot on the ground as silently as possible.

Sam felt his heartbeat in his ears as he slowly made his way towards the stage watching the lion the entire time only taking a brief moment to glance towards the stage to make sure he wouldn't bump into anything. The lion seemed to walk around bumping into the wall slightly before slowly turning it's head in a different direction and start walking again. Sam glanced back and spotted the rifle as he slowly lifted himself onto the stage to get closer, stepping forward he came to the lower half of the body that now that he was much closer could see how mutilated it really was as most of the upper body was missing the ribs exposed, Sam thought for a moment that the burger from much earlier would come up. Sam looked away as he walked around it focusing on the rifle. He reached down and picked it up, guns weren't his specialty but Becca had shown him a few tips and tricks about what to do when he found a gun. "Check it over, safety, ammo, uh something else..?" He mumbled to himself as he glanced back up to the lion then to the rifle. It had a scope on it and was a bolt action of some kind and as Sam pulled back the bolt he peered in the chamber and saw what looked like a bullet, Sam let out a sigh as he let go of the bolt, it slipped back into place with a loud snap and Sam froze as he looked back at the lion now making eye contact with it as it's head snapped towards him. 

The lion started walking towards the stage picking up speed with each step. Cindy brought her hands up to her hair. "Sam get out of there!" She cried out as the lioness was at a light jog now. Sam felt his joints ache for a brief moment as he shot to his feet quickly looking at the ladder that led to Cindy and the spot light controls. "Shit, fuck, shit!" He said as he started to walk towards in but stopped when the lioness let out a strained cry picking up speed to a full run now, it approached the center of the stage, and jumped up. Sam watched as it stood on the stage glaring at him, he raised the rifle aiming at the zombie lion. It slowly turned toward him and Sam felt like he might piss himself as he saw it crouched down low and brings it's paws together. "Remember kids, lions can leap forward about thirty feet!" Sam remembered the voice of a nice old lady who was in charge of his elementary school field trip to the zoo, and he quickly jumped to his left side, right off of the stage falling onto a colorful children's picnic table. He looked back onto the stage as the lion crashed into the side of the stage knocking over a stage wall that was painted like a savanna. Sam looked briefly at the lion that stood back up then the gun as he stood up he took aim again. "I'm more of a dog person anyway." He said with a smile, pulling the trigger. 

Several things happened. Sam felt himself get thrown back, a sharp pain shooting through his shoulder and back as he landed on the same picnic table from earlier. Another thing that happened was loud boom that made Sam's ears ring, and lastly the lion's head quickly jerked to the side as blood exploded from it, chunks of red splattered all over the remaining walls, her body fell to the stage clumsily. Sam looked in every direction, his ears ringing as his gaze finally settled on the lioness's corpse. "Ha take that you stupid cat! Hey Cindy you see that?" Sam said glancing back at Cindy only to see the bright light aimed at the stage. Sam stood up "Kicked it's ass!... Holy shit that hurts!" Sam brought a hand to his shoulder as he hissed out. "How does Becca make that look so easy?" He asked himself as he turned back towards the raised platform. Stepping towards the ladder he looked up and readied himself to climb with the rifle before he slowly and painfully made his way up.

"Sam you killed it, that's amazing!" Cindy said as Sam climbed up. Sam rubbed his shoulder. "Yeah it didn't stand a chance against me." He said feeling that same feeling whenever he killed one of the lickers or whenever he managed to piss off one of the scientists who ran the test, he felt a smile creep across his face. Suddenly a something slammed against the locked door from the other side startling Sam and Cindy, Sam raised the rifle as Cindy ran and hid behind his larger frame. Another hard slam at the door followed by something Sam recognized, "Oooooow." Sam smiled as he could hear the familiar sound of Martin trying to break down a door and lowered the gun. "Come on Marty, you can do it!" Sam called his grin growing wider as there was a brief moment of silence. "S-Sam? Is that you? Oh God are you speaking to us from beyond!?" Sam shook his head still smiling. "No Sandwich, take another guess." He said and there was more silence before a primal scream came from the door as it flew open with a slam. Martin fell forward, clumsily landing on the ground before turning on his side facing Sam, his head resting on his hand in a strange attempt to seem casual. "Oh hey, how's it going." He said and Sam rolled his eyes before walking forward and picking up Martin lifting him to his feet and bringing him into a hug. "Took you long enough to find us." Sam said turning back towards the door as Valerie looked in spotting Sam, she smiled and rushed forward and joined the hug. "Oh thank goodness you're safe Sam." She said and Sam brought an arm around her. "Jan! It's Sam!" Valerie called back into the room she and Martin had just left. January popped her head through the door. "No fucking way!" She said with a smile as she walked closer. "And here we had already replaced you with a mop we found." She said and Sam frowned at her. "As if you guys could replace me with a mop." He said and January held up a bloody stick. "I mean it worked for little awhile." She said as she casually tossed the broken mop handle to the floor.

Sam looked around then back towards the room. "Where are the others?" he asked taking a step towards the door. "They're hanging back, we went on ahead to look around." Martin said as he wrapped his arms tighter around Sam. "Aw you guys look so cute." Valerie said as Sam lifted Martin up still in the hug as he moved towards the door with the mechanic. "What's in here anyway? We couldn't get through." Sam said as the smell of cedar hit his nostrils. "It's like a storage house for the animals and crap." January said as Sam could see some empty cages further in the show prep room. "So what have you guys been up to? You're both okay right?" Valerie said quickly looking Sam over then Cindy. "I'm fine thanks." Cindy said with a soft smile, Sam pulled Martin back and briefly motioned towards his shoulder. "Little sore but I'll be fine." He said as he turned toward the stage. "Holy shit, where'd you find that?" January asked gesturing towards the rifle in Sam's hands. "Oh this baby?" Sam tried to lift the rifle but a sharp pain in his shoulder made him briefly raise it before lowing it again. "I shot a lion." He said with a grin.

Sam decided that meeting with the others would be best and he followed January and Valerie back towards the group, Martin walked close by his side. "Hey you okay? You're not hurt right?" He asked and Sam shook his head. "Nah, it was a close call with that elephant, and with the lion too, but all in all I think I'm good." Sam said before he looked at Martin who practically clung to him as they walked. "What about you? Nothing happened while I was gone right?" He asked nervously Martin shook his head. "No I just... I thought that elephant killed you when he pulled you out of the building, for a split second I thought he stepped on you, squished you, and you were gone." He said his voice quiet and Sam felt a pit in his stomach, he was lucky it didn't kill him, it could have so easily. "But I saw you running down the road and I was all like, 'ah yeah, keep running!' Then you were missing and we all thought you would get eaten by something, then we heard that loud gun go pop and I just-" Martin let out a sigh. "Just a roller coaster of emotion." He said and Sam looked down at Martin then glanced at the girls around seeing none had their eyes on them, he put a hand on the small of Martin's back and pulled him in closer for a second. "Of course I was okay, I had to get back to you." He whispered planting a quick kiss on Martin's cheek. Martin smiled as they moved through the show animals' room, past all of the empty cages and towards two doors, opening them they were outside again now on a road that Sam recognized as he saw the tractor from earlier, they were on a walkway beside the path Sam and Cindy took before, a wall of large plants obscured their view earlier but now Sam can see they had an alternate path to take. "Sam!" Becca called out as she ran over throwing her arms around Sam's neck. "Oh darlin we were so worried about you!" She said and Sam hugged her back. "You really think a big dumb elephant can stop me?" He said as Tyrone walked over and slapped him on the back. "I'm glad you're alright." Sam turned towards the voice and saw Raymond, although he seemed different his skin was a little paler than before, his forehead had some sweat running down it. "You guys aren't hurt are you?." He said snapping Sam out of his thoughts. Cindy shook her head. "No we're fine, what happened?" She asked and January crossed her arms. "After you guys got snatched that big zombie fuck waddled after ya, we made sure there wasn't anything else after us then we went lookin for ya." She said keeping her eyes on Raymond, Tyrone rubbed the back of his neck. "Kelly figured out how to turn the power back on, she also gave a bit of bad news." He said as all eyes fell on the woman from earlier who shrank under all the attention.

Kelly cleared her throat. "Uh right so after I turned on the main power, I found a document that said that the only way to open the front gate is with two emblems about of this big?" She said holding her hands about a foot apart. "One red, the other blue, we need to put them into the lion statues and that'll open the gate." Sam stared at her. "You're kidding." He said as he felt his anger rise up, Kelly shook her head. "No the owner used it as an attraction after the zoo got remodeled." She said as she tucked her hands into her pockets. "So where the fuck are these emblems?" Sam asked rubbing his temple. "One's in the terrarium dome, and the other is supposed to be in the owner's office." Cindy turned her head towards Kelly. "What do you mean 'supposed to be', You mean it's not there?" She asked her voice filled with fear. Kelly rubbed her arms nervously. "No that's why I was in his office I was looking for the red emblem while the others found the blue one, but I couldn't find it anywhere!" Kelly said and there was a silence as everyone looked at each other, Sam couldn't believe it, they had to find two small pieces of crap to leave, they went from one cage to another only they shared this one with a bunch of hungry animals that would eat them alive if given a chance. "What's a terrarium dome?" Martin asked Valerie. "It's like a big green house." She said and Tyrone cleared his throat catching everyone's attention. "Alright guys." Tyrone said standing up catching everyone's attention. "I think it's pretty obvious what we gotta do." He turned towards Kelly. "Kelly, can you take us to the terror dome?" He asked and Kelly raised an eyebrow. "The terrarium dome?" Tyrone stepped forward into the center of the group. "That's what I said, anyway, we gotta find these emblems if we wanna get out of here. So first we head towards the one we know about then we go looking for the missing one got it?" He said and the group looked around before standing up. "Sounds like a plan darlin!" Becca said smiling as she stepped closer to Tyrone. "Hey maybe he is your guys' leader." Kevin said as he gently elbowed Sam who shrugged. "I guess so, just don't tell Jan that, she thinks she's too cool to take orders." He said and January flipped him off without looking at him.

Tyrone looked over the group. "Okay first we need to find some weapons." Sam raised the rifle over his head. "Found one." He said as he held it out, "Whoa easy there son." Mark said as he tilted the barrel of the gun away from everyone pointing it towards the sky. "Number one rule of fire arms never point the damn thing at anyone you don't wanna shoot." He said and Sam gave a sheepish apology to everyone who was in front of it a moment ago. Becca took the gun from Sam as he handed it to her knowing she'd be a better shot than him anyway. "Alright guns are good but we need something for everyone else." Tyrone said and Valerie pointed behind her towards the stage animal prep room. "Maybe we could find something in there to use." She said and everyone nodded as they went in to try and arm themselves.

"I feel like an idiot." January said as she held up a wide shovel used for scooping up animal manure. "Better to feel like an idiot than to feel like a dead person." Martin said and January scoffed. "Speak for yourself I got a reputation to think about." Sam watched Martin roll his eyes as he held up a metal bar that had been pulled out from on of the cages, Sam had a similar metal bar but his was bigger. Valerie had found a broom and after removing the the long brush gave it a swing before she seemed satisfied. The group now equipped with their improvised weapons save for Becca, Mark, Kevin, and Raymond who had guns, made their way back towards the kid's zone. "Okay so I think I know a short cut to the terrarium dome." Kelly said as the group followed her as she headed down the ladder then towards the plaza, Sam mentally kicked himself for almost forgetting. "Hey wait! There's a lion in there!" He said catching Kelly's attention as she moved away from the door to the plaza. "Okay. So guns first then." Kevin said stepping forward his gun in his hands, now that Sam saw it up close it seemed like a different gun than Raymond's though he wasn't sure how guns were never his passion. "Okay I'm with ya." Becca said raising the rifle, and Kevin slowly opened the door, on the other everyone glanced around. "There it is!" Valerie whispered as she pointed towards on of the statues Sam saw earlier, sitting in front of it was the lioness he and Cindy had avoided earlier. "Okay I got this." Becca said as she took a knee, leveling the gun to her shoulder, she leaned her head and aimed down the scope planting the stock firmly against her shoulder. "Y'all might wanna cover your ears." She said and Sam had barely enough time to do just that when a flash erupted from the barrel of the gun and a deafening boom echoed throughout the plaza, Sam couldn't help but flinch and look away as the motion nearly knocked Becca down but she just stood up. "Damn now this is a gun!" She called as everyone looked back toward the lion that lay there motionless blood splattered all over the statue it was next to it. "Nicely done!" Kevin said as he moved closer to the lion's corpse. "Oh yeah it's not getting back up." He said as he walked past it, Sam moved closer and saw what Kevin meant as half of the lion's head was missing. He then turned his attention to the lion statue seeing a shield shaped indent at the base of the statue. "That must be where the emblem thingy goes." He said as he stepped closer looking the statue over once more he noticed the eyes of were red, he looked at the other one and it had blue eyes. "Over here!" Kelly called out and everyone turned toward her, she stood next to a gate at the far end of the plaza. "This leads towards the observation tower and from there we can get to the terrarium dome she said as she opened the door.

The group walked through, walking along a path surrounded by plants some with large leaves invading the path, Sam moved one of the large green leaves out of his way as he walked down the path following Kelly, Valerie pointing out that the plants in their way were called elephant ears, although that fact mostly just pissed Sam off. "Here we are." Kelly said as the group continued noticing the large tower come into view, the path before them branching off into two. One led towards a set of stairs that went up the tower to a room at the top, the other went to a door that Sam looked at with a sense of dread as a cartoon alligator decorated the metal door. "Maybe we should check up there, see if we can find anything useful." Kelly said pointing towards the observation tower. "Now you guys are lucky, we aren't usually allowed to bring customers up here hehe." Kelly chuckled as she started to walk up the stairs when she looked back and saw no one seemed to laugh with her she just went back to walking up. Sam followed, though something felt off as he took a step, like he had stepped in something sticky, he looked down and noticed a trail of blood leading up towards the tower. "Oh shit." He said rushing up the stairs to Kelly who reached for the door. "Wait!" He called but Kelly opened the door and Sam rushed forward pushing her back as he raised his metal pipe, looking in the room he heard Kelly gasp behind him as they saw a large puddle of blood on the floor, a single zombie lay on the ground, it was missing a leg and it turned towards them slowly crawling closer raising it's hand with a groan before slapping it to the floor and clumsily pushing itself closer. Whoever it was seemed to have only turned awhile ago as it's was still fairly recognizable as a middle aged man. "Oh my God that's Nick!" Kelly said from behind Sam. "He was one of the ones who went looking for the other emblem." She said and Sam glanced back at her before looking back at the zombie. "Sorry but we gotta take care of him." He said as the others came up the stairs seeing the zombie before them. "I- I can't look!" Kelly said as she turned away walking back down the stairs a little. Sam watched her a brief moment before turning back towards the man she called Nick, now a zombie slowly crawling his way towards them leaving a trail of blood behind, it looked like someone had attempted to wrap his leg as a bloody cloth was wrapped around the wound but that didn't save him. Sam looked at the others seeing the sad expressions behind him stepping forward the metal bar in his hands raised high. "Sorry man." He said to the undead stranger before him, before swinging the bar down hard.

After taking care of Nick and placing a coat, that had been hanging on up, over him Kelly made her way in the observation room, though she never took her eyes off the body. "We weren't close." She said and Sam watched as Becca moved over and placed a hand on Kelly's back. "But he was a nice guy, the kids loved his boat tour." She gave a small sniffle as she looked back out the large window that overlooked the zoo. "I hope the others are okay." She said with a sniff, Sam thought back to the lab and the testing, and he remembered feeling the same feeling of fear that his friends would end up as walking corpses, he kept silent unable to think of anything to say that would ease Kelly's mind.

Searching the cabin at the top of the tower was a little more fruitful than Sam had expected, they had found a box of ammo for the rifle Sam had found, and a first aid kit that Valerie had put in her backpack. "So Kelly, how much further?" Sam asked checking the cabinets one last time. "We just have to cut through the lakeside river tour and we'll be at the front entrance of the dome." She said quietly and Sam turned to look at her. "Lakeside river tour? Wait that place with the alligator on the front door?" He asked his voiced filled with concern. "Yeah but don't worry the gator is fenced off from the public tour area which is where we'll be." She said and Sam relaxed a little but turned to look at the body on the floor. "I bet he thought the same thing." Sam thought as he eyes the bloody stump where a leg should have been.

The group left the observation tower heading towards the door that Sam noticed earlier. Fear building up inside him, He was never a fan of alligators and as a kid they were one of his biggest fears, now the idea of a zombie alligator chasing them was like a nightmare he didn't even know he had come true. "Hey Sam." Sam turned to see Martin walking beside him. "You good?" He asked and Sam shook his head. "Nope, I hate alligators, and crocodiles, they're practically the same thing, they scare the shit outta me." Sam said before taking a deep breath as the group opened the door and headed in. "Well don't worry, remember what Kelly said, there's a fence! And besides I'm sure they're more scared of you than you are of it... Unless it's a zombie, they don't really feel fear, then I guess it wouldn't matter if it had a fence, it would probably just smash through and then were would we be..." Martin rambled and Sam had to resist the urge to slap a hand over Martin's mouth to shut him up, instead Sam raised his metal bar ready to swing it at the alligator and make it dead. 

The lakeside area was dimly lit a large wooden bridge leading across the water to land on the other side. "Oh that's not good." Mark said as he pointed out towards the water at a capsized boat, the lights shining out of the water towards the bridge casting shadows across the poorly lit area. "It's not sooo bad..." Valerie said as the group walked over to the bridge. Sam trailed along the back of the pack noticing the support beams of the bridge were covered in teeth marks making him uneasy. Raymond walked next to him letting out a strained breath. "Just relax, you'll be fine." He said as Sam glanced at him. "I'd like to believe you man but gators... They're fucking scary man!" Sam shivered. The group slowly walked across the bridge some faster than others as Sam had to almost use every fiber of his being to move his legs across, lagging behind the others, Martin followed his pace. "Don't worry I'll keep you safe. Uh babe." He said and although it raised an eyebrow from Raymond, Sam couldn't help but smile. "Aw you mean it?" He asked cheekily as he still slowly walked further down the bridge. Footsteps making the wood creaking along as they walked.

They crept further onto the bridge at a decent pace until they were all standing in the center of the lake, everyone's footsteps seeming to slow as a feeling of unease filled the air. "Maybe we should have gone one at a time?" Cindy said as she clung to Kevin's arm. "Yeah this is kinda freaky." Tyrone said as he slowed his step, they grew silent again as they walked. Sam felt his heartbeat pick up with each step, feeling the wood beneath his feet creak. "Is uh is the bridge sinking? It's not right? Please tell me it's not." Sam said as he reached down grabbing Martin's hand in a tight grip. Martin patted Sam's hand. "Relax, if anything the alligator would crawl onto the bridge and drag someone into the water." He said and Sam tightened his grip out of fear. "Ow ow, Sam uh my h-hand, ouchie!" Martin said as he bent over trying to free his hand from Sam's grip.

The sound of water sloshing made them all stop in their tracks. "No." Sam said as he scanned the water looking for the disturbance the light shining into his eyes made it near impossible to see anything past the half sunken boat casting it. "I say we just get the hell outta here." January said as she rushed forward. "Jan's got the right idea, let's just get on outta here." Becca said as everyone started to rush towards the shore. Sam kept is sights on the water looking for a splash or ripples or any sign of something out there. "Please be a duck, or a turtle, or something I can stomp down." Sam muttered, Martin tugged on his arm. "Sam come on we gotta-" A loud splash cut him off as Sam heard that familiar hissing that made him shudder. Looking out and around he spotted the alligator that he had been fearing attempting to climb up onto the bridge, it's front half struggled as it's open mouth thrashed back and forth. Sam watched it practically frozen in fear as the alligator slowly fell back into the water, it's long snout and the sharp exposed teeth falling back into the water with a splash. "Let's get the fuck out of here!" Sam cried as he sprinted past the group. "What he said!" Martin followed and everyone ran at full speed across the bridge.

Sam ran forward leading the group, eyeing the other shore, a sign that read 'River Tour' was illuminated by a small light below it. Sam couldn't wait to stand on solid land as he continued to sprint towards his goal. When he suddenly felt his leg break through the bridge, the sound of wood splintering and breaking followed by a splash as Sam's foot fell into the water beneath. Sam heard his name cried out for a brief moment before he fell forward hitting the bridge floor hard a brief moment of confusion washed over him as he tried to piece together what had happened as he tried to push himself up only for the wooden planks under his arms to give out with another snap Sam felt weightless for a brief moment as he plunged into the freezing water below loosing his grip on the metal pole he was carrying.

The faintest of light was all that was visible in the murky water as he quickly got his bearings and flailed towards the surface of the water, breaking the surface he took a gasp of air. "Sam!?" He heard his friends crying out his name over and over. Briefly wiping the water and his hair out of his eyes he looked around for where he fell through the bridge. "G-Guys-" He tried to call out only for the water to rush into his mouth and choked out a cry. "He fell down here!" Kelly's voice called out as the dark silhouette of a hand reached the hole Sam had fallen, He could see the hand close by and went to grab it when there was a sudden splash, water shooting up his nose and causing him to briefly go under when he resurfaced again he could hear everyone above distressed, voices raised and what sounded like general chaos as voices called out over each other, Sam tried to make out what was being said. "What happened?" "Is Sam okay?" Holy fucking shit!" A scream rang out. Sam turned and saw the reptile with it's jaws clamped down on something as it thrashed as attempted to twist causing a man's voice to cry out in pain from the arm it was holding onto, Sam turned and swam away as fast as he could. His body was on fire yet the water was freezing and he clumsily tried to swing his arms in some form of the dog paddle kicking his legs he wasn't even sure he was moving at all.

Even when he was in the testing facility he didn't feel fear this real as he wasn't sure if he was crying mostly because every couple of seconds his face was splashed as Sam swung a soggy sleeve forward slapping the water pulling himself closer to the shore. He could hear gunshots behind him. He felt something beneath his feet and for a brief moment he cried out thinking it was another alligator but then he pushed forward some more and found it to be the shore as he pushed forward and felt his hands grip mud as he pulled himself out onto land and he looked back towards the group as he heard another scream then a few more shots then one loud gunshot Sam recognized as the rifle Becca was carrying and then silence. He turned back the light mounted on the half sunken boat shined onto the bridge and Sam could see everyone running across rest of the bridge onto a dirt path leading towards the white walls of the terrarium dome. "Sam!" He heard Tyrone cry out as the group spotted him. Sam rushed past the brush and foliage climbing over the fence, dropping onto the other side his clothes making a wet slap against his body causing him to give another shudder. "What happened?" Sam asked as the group ran past him, Sam then noticing Valerie and Kevin supporting Raymond who clutched his right arm that was covered in blood. Neither answered him as they pushed past, Valerie meeting his eyes with a frightened look, and headed towards the dome with Kelly leading the group. "There should be a f-first aid kit in the t-ter-ter, the dome!" She stuttered out as she got to the door of the terrarium dome and she pulled out a key from her jacket and unlocking, she opened the sliding door and everyone rushed inside.

Sam was hit with the powerful odor of pollen as he rushed inside the dome. Looking around the bright lights of the green house lit up the area showing off the bright colorful flowers and green vines crawling up the walls. "Over here!" Kelly called out as she walked into what looked like a tool shed and pulled the first aid kit off of the wall, Kevin and Valerie led Raymond towards her as they went into the shed and closed the door Raymond letting out grunts of pain as they moved. Sam looked around the group as Becca and Martin walked towards him. "You okay darlin?" Becca asked grabbing him by the shoulders and looking him over. "Man you gotta stop freaking us out like that!" Martin said as he hugged Sam then pulled away. "Whoa you're soaked!" He said and Sam slowly nodded as he looked back towards the shed. "I think I need to sit down." Sam said as he slowly walked towards a set of steps leading to a second floor of the terrarium dome, flopping down on the lowest step he stared down at his wet clothes a puddle forming around him. "Hey son." He looked up and saw Mark standing over him. "You alright?" He asked and Sam let out a choked laugh but didn't say anything. "I'm glad we have a minute to breath." Mark said walking over taking a seat next to Sam. "I'm too old and too fat to be running around like this." He said rubbing circles into his knee with his thumb. "I almost became lizard food." Sam breathed out. "Hey don't think about it. You're alive that's what matters." Mark said placing a hand on Sam's shoulder. "If it hadn't grabbed Raymond it would have gone after me." Sam said and Mark shook him lightly. "Hey you go thinking like that you'll driver yourself crazy." He said and Sam looked at him. "Trust me sometimes you just have to be glad you're alive." Mark said and Sam slowly nodded. Mark stayed by his side silent as Sam just took a minute to try and even his breath.

After several long minutes Valerie came back to the group followed by Kelly. "I uh think we patched him up, best we could." Valerie said as Kelly went towards wall of the dome and leaned against it. "He's resting but he's lost a lot of blood. And his arm is pretty banged up." She looked down at her feet. "I don't know if he's going to pull through." She said as Becca wrapped an arm around her. Sam looked around at everyone, then towards the shed. After a pause Sam stood up and walked over to it.

Slowly opening the door Sam looked in and saw Kevin leaning against the wall, he was looking over his gun briefly looking up from it to see Sam then continued to examine the weapon. Laying on the floor was Raymond who had his eyes closed his chest rising and falling with each breath. "Hey." Sam said looking at the unconscious man. "Hey yourself. How are you holding up?" Kevin asked and Sam shrugged. "I'm good, kinda wish people would stop asking me that." He said and now Kevin shrugged. "Well first and elephant grabbed you and pulled you out of a building, then you fall through a bridge into gator infested waters." He said as he holstered his gun and looked back at Sam. "And that's just what I've seen tonight, I'm guessing you've had to deal with a few things before that." Sam chuckled. "Oh yeah, been one helluva night." Sam said not taking his eyes off of Raymond.

Sam felt a pain in his chest as he watched the unmoving cop, if he had been more careful or faster, then maybe he wouldn't be like this. If Raymond hadn't reached down to try and help him he wouldn't have been mauled, but then odds are Sam would be dead. He was at a loss, he wanted to be glad that he was alive, that it was someone else and not him. That he could survive another night. But a feeling he hated welled up inside him, when someone saved him, and died in the process. He looked at the bandaged arm. "He wasn't going to make it anyway, he'd been bit." Sam thought bitterly. He looked back at Kevin. "I'm sorry." He said quietly. Kevin cocked an eyebrow. "For..?" Sam shuddered as he felt his breath hitch. "For getting him- for causing this!.." He gestured towards Raymond. "If I hadn't- Or maybe if I... I don't know!" Sam crouched down bouncing on the balls of his feet as he ran his hands through his wet hair. "Hey kid, this isn't your fault, none of this is!" Kevin said placing a hand on Sam's back. "Listen, you've been through a lot, but you've got friends who you can talk to about this." Kevin said and Sam looked up at him. "You know that whole time you were gone, they were just talking about how you'd be fine, they have crap tons of faith in you." Kevin slowly lifted Sam and led him into the other room.

Martin was talking to Tyrone about something when he noticed Sam, his eyes went wide and he rushed to Sam. "Sam? Are you okay?" He looked him over. Becca and Tyrone moved over too. Sam looked at each of them then Valerie who stayed in her corner, then to January who was now eyeing him from where she stood at the edge of the group. "I uh." Sam felt his eyes burn as he held back tears. "I'm freaking out guys." He said flatly now Valerie was making her way over. "Every time we do something to get out of this mess, something tries to kill us!" Sam said as he felt a tear roll down his cheek. "I mean holy shit. Yesterday we were in a freaking laboratory!" He said and Martin grabbed his hand as Becca hugged him from behind, Tyrone awkwardly joining the hug as Valerie pulled him into it. "We'll make it out of this right?" Sam asked and he felt the hug tighten as he shivered remembering that he was still soaked. "Of course we'll make it!" January said as she walked over. "We're survivors, you know? We made it out of that shitty lab, we'll make it outta this stupid city, and then we'll all sit at a bar sipping whiskey while Martin drinks his root beer." Sam let out a brief laugh as January smiled at him setting a hand on the group hug. Sam sniffed as wiped his nose on his soaked sleeve. "Oh my gosh, Sam you're probably freezing!" Valerie said as she pulled away then began to dig through her backpack. Sam smiled he realized how cold he actually was and took off his wet jacket. Valerie pulled out a pink hoodie and handed it to Sam who looked at it briefly before taking off his wet shirt and wearing the hoodie that was a size too small, he looked down at himself the hoodie stretched tight over his built frame but at least it was dry. "You wouldn't happen to have an extra pair of pants in there would you?" he asked and Valerie sadly shook her head. "Sorry." She said and Sam smiled anyway and gave her a hug.

Sam and Martin walked around the dome, Sam stopped shivering although he wished that his shoes didn't make a sloshing noise with each step. "So any idea what we're looking for?" Martin asked as he held Sam's hand with both hands in an attempt to warm it up. "Something red, or something blue." Sam replied as the two walked along the path one side surrounded by plants the other a wall with pictures of flowers and their names on it. "Where would something like that be though?" Martin looked around as Sam dragged a hand along the wall. "Maybe it's in the plants." Sam said dryly as he looked at a picture of a 'Corpse Flower'. "Maybe it's buried under the dome!" Martin said as he looked at the plants they passed Sam simply nodded as he eyed the plants. "Hey Sam." Martin muttered and they both stopped moving. "Hmm?" Sam looked down at him. "You know you can talk to me, right? You seem like your going through some stuff. Like back at the elevator and well just now." He said and Sam pulled him into a hug placing his head on top of Martin's head of curly hair. "Yeah." He pulled away. "I'm good now but I'll let ya know when I feel uh not good. Okay?" He said and Martin smiled then frowned. "Okay but you don't have to feel bad to talk, you know?" He said and Sam looked him in the eye. "Yeah." He leaned in and Martin met him for a kiss as they pulled away Sam gave his head a quick shake. "Okay let's find this stupid emblem thingy so we can get out of here." He said and Martin nodded as he followed behind.

Sam walked along the walls a hand stopping at each picture pulling at them knocking several off the wall. "These were just hung up there? Someone could have just walked over and stolen them!" Martin said looking at the pictures now on the floor. Sam leaned in and whispered into Martin's ear. "That's not the only thing that's hung." He said and Martin looked at him an eyebrow raised then both shot up as he looked around. "Dude is now the best time to think about stuff like that?" He asked and Sam shrugged. "Just saying when we have a moment of privacy I wanna have a round two." He said and Martin had a shy smile. "That'd be awesome! But uh do we wanna do the same thing or try something new?" Now Sam raised an eyebrow a sly grin appeared on his face. "Why? You got any ideas? Maybe something kinky?" He asked and Martin's face started to turn red, Sam let out a laugh as the mechanic covered his face only the pink on his ears giving away Martin's blush. "Don't worry we can talk about it later." Sam said as he walked away placing a hand on another picture and tried to lift it feeling a little resistance. Sam looked at the picture then to Martin. "Hey right here." Sam said as Martin moved towards the picture. Sam felt a small space between the picture and the wall. "What? What is it?" Martin asked as Sam pulled at the picture. "I got a feeling." He moved his hand around the frame of the finger dragging along the edges feeling a small button on the bottom of the frame, Sam smiled. "I think I got it." He pressed the button and the picture slowly slid upwards revealing a hole in the wall with a red object inside. "Whoa! Sliding pictures!" Martin said in amazement as Sam reached in and grabbed the object inside pulling out a red shield shaped emblem and Sam smiled. "Hey guys!" Sam called out as he and Martin walked over to the shed where Raymond was resting. "I found the thingy!" Sam called out.

Everyone clustered around Sam as he held out the emblem a design of a lion carved into it. "That's it alright." Kelly said as Sam turned it over looking it all over. "Sweet, so one down and only one to go." Sam said as Kevin walked into the room a slightly distressed look on his face. "So where would the other one be?" He asked and Kelly shook her head. "I don't know, it was supposed to be in the main office, but well obviously that didn't pan out." She said frowning at the emblem. Everyone stood there for a minute before Kevin cleared his throat. "So we are still stuck huh?" He spoke as he crossed his arms. Everyone was quiet. "Well staying around here isn't getting us anywhere." Tyrone said before turning his head towards the tool shed. "How's Raymond?" He asked and Kevin let out a sigh. "His arm's practically useless, but I think he's alive, I'm just not sure if he's ready to move." Tyrone briefly looked at the others, Cindy stepped forward. "What if we leave him here while we go look for the other emblem? Then after we find it we can come back for him." She said and everyone seemed to agree. "Alright who's up for being part of the away team, raise your hand?" Martin said lifting his arm into the air. Sam looked around and then raise his own hand. "Count me in darlin, I'm itching to get a move on!" Becca said as she gave a thumbs up, Kelly raised her hand. "I think I can help out more out there." Tyrone nodded and stepped forward. "I'll go too. Val, Jan. You two good with staying here and keeping an eye out for everyone?" He asked and January scoffed. "I ain't a baby sitter but yeah I'll keep them out of trouble, make sure you guys come back I better not have to find both of those stupid things." She pointed at the red emblem and Valerie nodded. "Yeah you guys be careful, I'll help out Raymond as best I can." She said as she looked at Kevin who gave her a weak smile. With the two groups decided Sam walked with the 'away team' as Martin kept calling them and they walked to the other exit of the Terrarium dome as none of them wanted to chance running into the alligator again, no matter how sure Becca was that she had killed it.

Opening the door, leading outside they were greeted by a building with a long staircase leading up the side, the words 'employees only' were printed on a sign that hung off the side. Along the edge of the building was the same familiar tall wooden fence Sam had seen earlier, the concrete path led to a wooden door that had a bolt with a lock keeping it shut. "You wouldn't happen to have a key would you?" Tyrone asked as he looked back to Kelly as he walked towards the door. She shook her head. "Sorry no-" Tyrone kicked the door hard, breaking it free of the locked bolt that fell to the ground clattering against the concrete. "It's fine, I found one." Tyrone said as the group crowded around the now open door. "Nice." Martin said as he held his fist up towards Tyrone who walked past. "That's cool." Martin walked forward with the group.

They walked through the door and found a massive open gate that led into the building towards a stage with bleachers aligned all around the room. "This is the elephant's stage, we would have shows here." Kelly said sadly as she pointed towards the control room that was raised up, a ladder on the back wall led up towards it. "We'd play music from there and..." She seemed to trail off as she looked around the entrance of the building. "What's up?" Tyrone asked following her gaze. "I think I have an idea." She said as she started to walk towards the ladder. "Come with me a sec?" She asked and Sam didn't see why not so he followed her to the ladder as did the others. Reaching the ladder, Martin stood beside the ladder as everyone went up, Sam walked past grabbing the ladder, he looked at Martin and winked as he began to climb. When Sam poked his head into the control room he looked around before climbing up. There was a control panel overlooking the stage area but otherwise the room was empty save for a few cardboard boxes and chairs, a door leading to where he guessed the stair outside led to. He climbed up and turned around and reached a hand out to pull Martin up.

Once Martin was up with everyone they crowded around Kelly who was looking over the control panel. "So Kel, Whatcha got planned?" Becca asked and Kelly looked back. "Okay so basically." She said as she looked back towards the buttons and switches before her. "I was thinking we can close the gate right there." She pointed towards the two large metal gates the were barely peeking out of the walls at the entrance of the elephant stage house. "And if the elephant is in here when we do." She looked back at the others. "We can cut it in half!" Martin said and everyone turned towards him. "I mean uh we can lock it in here?" He added sheepishly and Sam patted him on the back. "Yes to the second thing." Kelly smiled as she pressed a button. "We can turn on the speakers and play something to lure Oscar in here and- Oh Oscar is the elephant by the way." She said as she opened a cassette player. "Damn it's empty." She said as she turned back towards the others. "We should totally do that though. It'll be way easier to wonder around this place without worrying about the elephant- sorry, without worrying about Oscar." Tyrone said and Sam had to agree. "So what do we do then? To make this plan work?" He asked and Kelly jerked a thumb to the control panel. "We need something to play on the speaker, There should be some in the storage room, through there." She then pointed towards the door at the other end of the room. "I'll get it!" Martin said as he ran towards the door. "Sam go with him, make sure he doesn't get eaten by a panther or a goat or something." Tyrone said and Sam followed Martin who waited by the door.

Martin slowly opened the door, he and Sam looking through spotting someone laying on the floor face down, the neck had blood around it, a pistol in her hand. They also saw a door not far behind it and a staircase across the hall leading down to the outdoor area where the group was moments ago. "Ah shit." Sam muttered as he tensed up eyeing the body on the floor. "Somethin wrong?" Becca called out from behind them. "Nah it's just one, we're fine." Martin said as he raised the metal pole he had held onto. "You guys sure? I can take care of it." Becca said and Sam slowly walked forward. "Nah save your ammo we can handle it." He said as he and Martin moved towards the unmoving person. It was a woman wearing the same employee jacket Kelly did, getting closer Martin lowered the pole and poked her head. She didn't move. Sam stepped closer and nudged her with his foot then quickly hopped away. Still no movement. Sam and Martin exchanged looks then Sam leaned down and after grabbing the handgun and placing it in the waistband of his still wet clothes, turned the body over. Glad that Kelly wasn't right here in case she recognized this woman.

Martin let out a gasp as Sam flipped the corpse onto it's back. The woman's face was covered in blood and scratch marks more so around the eyes that were just empty sockets. "She's not moving?" Sam looked around for whatever had killed her. "That means her brain got injured right? That's how you're supposed to kill them right?" Martin said as he patted her pockets looking for anything useful like he had to do in several of the tests before. A strange chirp made both of them freeze as they both looked up towards the noise. A white and black bird with a long yellow beak stained with blood sits perched on the railing of the staircase, it's head turning side to side. Sam and Martin slowly stood up from the body as they both slowly backed up towards where the others were. The Horn bill let out a loud cry as it took flight and Sam and Martin quickly turned and went back into the room slamming the door behind them, hearing a thud against the door followed by some wing flaps on the other side. Sam and Martin looked at each other as they both took a step back from the door. "What's going on, you guys okay?" Becca asked as she and Tyrone came running over to them. "A bird!" Martin said pointing towards the door. Becca and Tyrone exchanged looks. "Okay..?" Becca glanced at Sam. "Zombie bird!" He explained and the two nodded at the new information as Becca held up the rifle. "Don't worry boys, I got this." Tyrone grabbed her shoulder. "Hold up, you really wanna waste a shot on a bird?" He asked and Becca glanced at the rifle. "Yeah but... But I like shootin it!" She pouted and Sam pulled out the pistol and handed it to her which she reluctantly took it. "Alright." She grumbled as she checked the chamber and magazine, Martin stood by the door ready to open it. Becca stood in front of the door and crouched down on her knee raising the pistol aiming it the door and Martin opened the door and Becca sat there for a brief moment before she fired. A squawk came from the hall way as Sam looked down and saw the bird laying there twitching briefly before laying still, feathers scattered all around it. "Thanks Becca." Martin said walking towards the door by the body and Sam followed as Becca stood up handing the handgun back to Sam as he walked past.

Sam watched as Martin opened the door to a storage closet. Cleaning equipment and costumes for animals and people alike filled the room, a desk covered in various zoo crap sit against the wall. Sam went over and looked through some of the junk on top before he opened the drawer and found one of the cassette tapes he assumed Kelly was talking about. Suddenly he felt a hand on his ass. He smirked as he looked over his shoulder. Only to see a massive head of a bunny costume with rosy cheeks and a heart shaped nose. "Hello my dear." Martin said as he made his voice deeper, leaning forward the bunny head wobbling around as he didn't have the rest of the costume to keep it secure. "Oh God." Sam smiled as the bunny headed Martin swayed his hips a little. "Someone's been a bad bunny." He said as he walked closer. Sam still smiling grabbed the sides of the Bunny head. "So you've been bad?" Martin seemed to stop. "What?" Sam chuckled. "You're the bunny here." Martin stood there frozen for a moment. "Wait I messed up." Sam let out a laugh as he spun the bunny head around obscuring Martin's view who reached his hands out. "Wha!? Sam?" Martin wandered around bumping into some more junk before he finally took the bunny head off. Sam reached over and pulled Martin into a kiss catching Martin off guard who smiled as Sam pulled away. "Man this would be so much more fun if we weren't in a hurry." Martin said and Sam nodded slowly as he placed a hand on Martin's crotch. "Maybe we can stay here for just a second." Sam said as he rubbed his hand up and down. "And what, have them walk in on us? Yeah right." Martin said as he pushed Sam away slightly but left the hand where it was. "Good point." Sam said bitterly as he continued to rub, Martin getting hard beneath his jeans. Martin let out a sigh.

After a brief moment together and Sam teasing Martin, he walked back in to give Kelly the cassette while Martin "readjusted" himself much to Sam's amusement. Kelly placed the cassette into the player and flipped a few switches and pressed a few buttons then she turned towards the group. "Okay so we lock him in here then we go out the back down those stairs got it?" She said and everyone nodded as Martin reentered the room, Sam grinning at him as he did. "Sounds good." Tyrone said and everyone looked out over the control panel out towards the entrance. Kelly pressed the button and loud carnival music started to blare from the speakers along the walls in the stage area. The group stood there staring into the road just beyond the gates. Sam was worried they would end up bringing something other than the elephant for a moment. After a few minutes the music stopped and they all stood there just as Sam was about to suggest playing the shitty music again the familiar sound of the heavy footsteps rebounding off of the concrete as Oscar the zombie elephant slowly lumbered into view. "There he is!" Martin said and Kelly reached for another button her hand hovering just above it.

Oscar took several clumsy steps forward crossing the threshold into the stage area. His trunk reaching out and grabbing one of the speakers ripping it away from the seats yanking the wires loose. "Okay now!" Tyrone said as Kelly pressed the button a rusty creak rang out as two large metal gates slowly emerged out of the walls, sealing the elephant in the cage. Sam watched as the Large metal walls slowly came together and he noticed something he hadn't seen before, a figure was hanging off of one of the gates jostle from the sudden movement and begin to fall on the outside of the walls. "Alright let's get the hell outta here." Kelly said as she and the others moved towards the door that led down towards the door Tyrone had kicked open. Kelly averting her gaze from the corpse just outside the door.

Moving down the stairs, Sam began to wonder what the thing he saw was and as everyone left the stairs he noticed Valerie standing in the doorway of the dome. "I heard music or something is everything alright?" She asked her face full of worry. "Yeah we're just doing stuff, don't worry." Martin said with a smile as they walked past her towards the door. "O-okay..? Have fun?" She waved as they went towards the front of the building. Sam looked around for the figured he saw earlier. "Hey was that there earlier?" Tyrone asked as he pointed towards something at the edge of the door. "I saw that first!" Sam said as he moved closer. "Oh it's a guy. Um a dead guy." Sam said as he got closer seeing a man with a large bloody slash on his back his body in an odd position from falling from on top of the tall gate. "Kelly, did you know him?" Tyrone asked and Kelly slowly walked towards him. "A little, his name was Carl but we didn't talk much." She said and then she tilted her head. "Hey look." She said as she walked closer, pushing his body to the side revealing a familiar shape, a shield that shined a marine blue with a similar lion design etched into it. "This is it! We have the other piece!" Kelly said as she held up the blue emblem. Sam felt himself grin as he turned towards the others. They had looks mixed with relief and joy. A loud slammed startled all of them as Oscar slammed it's head against the gates. "Oh fuck, we should go!" Sam said as Oscar slammed against it again bending the metal slightly.

Sam walked towards the door leading into the dome. "Hey guys we found it!" Sam said as he slid the door open. Though no one seemed to be rushing to him. "Guys?" He said as he walked in. the mood shifting as he heard crying. Turning the corner he saw Cindy crying into Kevin's shoulder as he held her. "Guys?" Sam asked as he walked towards the group. Valerie and January turned towards him. Valerie turned her gaze to the ground while January shook her head. "What's wrong?" He asked nervously. "Raymond uh." Valerie started, January placed a hand on Valerie's shoulder. "Raymond turned." She said and pointed briefly towards the shed where a tarp lay over a body a small pool of blood leaking out from underneath it. 

The group crowded around in silence paying a moment of grief for Raymond the officer who saved them from the dangerous zombie filled streets. After they agreed that they needed to move on they crowded around Sam who held the red and blue emblems up for everyone to see. "Alright. We have the emblems so I say we head on back through the lakeside area and book it to the statues." Tyrone said and Sam felt his heart rate pick up. "You good with that Sam?" Martin asked and Sam took a breath before he nodded vigorously. "Yeah sure whatever gets us out of here faster!" He said as he closed his eyes tightly.

With the group agreeing to return the way they came, they moved back into the lakeside area, the long bridge stood before them. Becca once again assured them that she fired the rifle into the head of the alligator and that it was dead, Kelly assured them that they only had the one alligator. Sam felt a little at ease though that still didn't stop him from easing his way across the bridge slowly, Martin and Becca walking behind him. "Don't worry if you fall through again I'll catch ya!" Martin said, Becca groaned. "Don't worry, you won't fall through at all, just get along already!" She said pushing Sam forward. Sam eventually sped up making his way to the shore though he decided he'd wait to celebrate his personal victory once they were out of here. The group back tracked past the observation tower leading towards the plaza taking a look to make sure the are was clear they rushed over to the two lion statues. "The red one goes there, and the blue one there." Kelly said as she first pointed to the lion with the red eyes and then to the blue eyed one. Sam handed the blue emblem to January who walked past him to get to the designated spot. They inserted the emblems in the space available and the two shields clicked and stuck in place after a moment the statues rumbled and rotated slightly until they were facing each other. Then a beep came from the shutters and they slowly started to open. The tram station right in front of the entrance to the zoo where the group found themselves trapped in all night. "Oh sweet freedom!" Mark said as everyone rushed towards the opened exit.

Sam felt like a weight was lifted as they all ran into the street, the air seemed so much different as Sam took a breath in, even though they were outside almost all night, the air seemed to taste different more relaxing. "Don't get too excited you guys. We're still stuck in the city." January said and Sam let out a breath. "Yes ma'am, miss buzzkill." He muttered earning him a glare from the blonde punk. They started to move towards the tram excitement building with each step, Sam wondered where it would take them but anywhere away from the zoo would be nice. Suddenly a familiar noise that rattled Sam's skull as an elephants blared it's trunk as the noise grew closer. "Oh no..." Sam muttered as he turned back towards the zoo in time to see Oscar the elephant charged into the entrance of the zoo, crashing through scattering rubble into the street.

"Oh my shit!" Kevin cried out as he and the others sprinted away towards the tram and from Oscar who lumbered into the street stepping on a car and crushing it down as class broke out of the window. Kevin was the first onto the tram and after a moment Sam could hear it come to life with a small bell noise at the front of the tram. Everyone climbed onto it and it started to move forward, picking up speed. Oscar attempted to slam into the side of it but the tram just barely avoided him as it sped up down the street, several cars were just barely in it's path but they were pushed out of the way with enough force to break the glass on several of them. Sam looked out the window watching Oscar try to follow but was slowed by several of the abandoned cars that littered the street and eventually it faded into the poorly lit street. He smiled as the tram continued on furthering the distance between them and their large stalker. He turned back towards the group looking over everyone. "I think... We're good..?" Martin slowly asked as he looked around the group. Sam watched as a wave of relief slowly washed over the group. "I think so too." Cindy said as she smiled. The mood shifted as everyone enjoyed the ride of the tram through the city.

Martin walked over to where Sam sat and flopped down next to him. "So, where do you think we're going?" He asked and Sam shrugged. "Who knows could be anywhere, hopefully somewhere with food." He said as he realized how hungry he was, Martin agreed setting a hand on his stomach. "I miss that burger we had at J's." He said and January came over to the two. "Damn I'd kill for another burger, extra pickles, no mayo." She said and now everyone was chiming in with the burger they wished for. "So much cheese it's dripping off the sides!" Tyrone said as he leaned back in his seat. "No onions bleh!" Valerie said stretching her arms. "And a milkshake!" Becca said and Cindy sighed. "Oh that sounds nice." She said, Kevin let out a laugh. "Some onion rings too." and Mark smiled as he nodded. Sam began to imagine a nice place where the group could sit down and enjoy the treats they all talked about, it would be nice. A sudden stop knocked everyone to the floor with several cries of surprise.

Sam landed right on top of Martin, who let out a heavy breath. "Shit! Sorry Martin!" Sam said standing up and pulling Martin to his feet. After making sure Martin was okay he noticed the orange light that was coming through the tram windows, he slowly turned his head towards the source, and he couldn't help but let out a shaky breath. Before him was a pile of burning rubble after staring at it he could make out that it used to be a helicopter, burning and surrounded by bodies, some unmoving, others could be seen trying to crawl away, some were on fire, the number was easily in the twenties maybe thirties there were screams and pleading for someone to help, and others were zombies crawling over to the people who couldn't escape, their cries for help simply calling more to them. "Oh my God..." Cindy whispered as she covered her mouth.

Sam felt his head start to spin, everyone's voices were nothing more than whispers as he watched the scene before him. A brief bit of movement caught his eye and he turned towards it, a feeling of dread as he saw a large figure start to step into the orange light. The figure was massive Sam could tell that it was much taller than him even at such a distance. It's tall body looked as if it was wrapped in some kind of bag and it's face was misshapen it looked as if the forehead was slumped over the eye and sewed shut, the mouth had it's teeth exposed as it had no lips. But the thing that worried Sam the most was the large object mounted on it's shoulder. After a brief moment of the figure standing there it turned it's head towards the tram. "Everyone we need to get out of here!" Sam cried out as he pointed towards the figure before them. "Jesus Christ! What is that thing!?" Mark cried out as he went towards the tram controls. "What's it holding!?" Kelly asked as she took a step back. The figure raised the object and a bright laser sight came from it pointing directly towards the tram. "Holy shit we gotta get out of here!" Kevin called out as he ran to the front of the tram grabbing Mark by the shoulder. "Everyone out!" Tyrone called as the group left the tram and the tall creature let out a cry as something fired from the monsters weapon and Sam's eyes go wide as he grabbed Martin by the arm and jumped further away from the tram just before the rocket crashed into the tram causing an explosion.

Sam's ears were ringing as he looked around. "What the fuck, they have rocket launchers now?" He asked as he started to stand up, Martin right next to him. "Sam! Martin!" He turned as Tyrone ran up to him. "Come on we gotta run!" He said pushing both of them towards the group that Sam could now see were collecting themselves, at least most of them. "Where are we going?" Sam asked as he started to run. "Anywhere but here!" Tyrone said as he raced past them and Sam shook his head collecting his thoughts and he made a break for it. "Hey! Over here!" A voice called out, a woman's voice. Sam looked around spotting the source waving towards them. It was a woman in a blue tank top and black pants, one hand waved to them the other pointed a gun at the creature with the rocket launcher. Sam watched as the group slowly turned to her and sprinted down the street in her direction. "Look out!" The woman called as she turned and fired at some straggling zombies that wondered in their path. Sam watched as she fired three times, each shot took down a zombie.

They stopped in front of the woman, turning back to look at the creature. Sam watched as it turned towards them and slowly walked towards the group. "Who the hell are you!?" January asked as the woman reloaded. "Right now I'm your best shot at getting out of here!" The woman said as she pointed towards an alley. "Head that way now!" She said as she raised her handgun and pointed it at the monster that took aim at the group or more specifically the woman. The woman shot twice, both hit the monster in the head. It's head reeled back a moment as it dropped the rocket launcher. Sam watched the monster fell to one knee. "Whoa nice shot!" Martin called. The woman turned towards the two and pushed them as she ran too. "Get a move on people!" She called and Sam looked back over his shoulder and saw the monster slowly start to stand up. "Oh shit!" Sam said as he looked forward and started to run with the others.

The group went down an alley and took several turns before they crossed another street. They ran several long minutes before Martin asked for them to stop. "Pl-please, I j-just need a second..!" He breathed and everyone stopped, breathing heavily. "Yeah let's rest a second." Sam huffed and he saw Martin hunch over. Valerie fell to her knees as she tried to catch her breath. "What the hell was that thing!?" Becca said as she looked at the woman who seemed to be collecting her own breath. She turned towards the group. "Some B.O.W. sent by Umbrella." Everyone exchanged looks. "Hey where's Cindy?" Valerie asked as she looked around. "And Mark and Kevin?" Kelly asked as she looked around. "Do you think they..?" Becca asked worriedly. The woman stepped forward. "Don't worry I saw your friends head the other way. Three of them right?" She said and Tyrone nodded. "If they were seen by that thing then we gotta go help them!" He said and the woman shook her head. "You don't have to worry that thing has a... vendetta against me. It won't hunt them while it's after me." She said and January stepped forward. "And who the hell are you?" She asked agitated and the woman looked her in the eye before looking around a the others. "My name's Jill Valentine. I'm a police officer." She said and January tensed for a moment. "You said Umbrella sent that B.O.W. right?" January asked and the woman sighed. "Yeah, I know it's hard to believe but trust me when I say-" Sam stepped forward. "Yeah we know Umbrella has a secret lab under the city and they made monster weapons and they're the ones who caused all this shit." He said and Jill raised an eyebrow. "You know..?" Valerie stood up. "Oh we could tell you some stories." She said and Jill crossed her arms. "Oh I'd like to hear them, I can probably top 'em." She said, a distant moan could be heard as a lone zombie walked towards them from the end of the alley knocking over a trash can. "Maybe we should find a safer place to talk." Jill said as she started to walk down the street. Sam agreed and followed the woman.

They walked down the street passing by a few empty cars and some zombies that slowly walked towards them, but the group easily avoided them and any that were in the way were quickly dispatched by Tyrone and Sam through the metal pipe Martin had given him. "Down there." Jill pointed towards towards a stairway leading to the subway. Everyone complied as they followed her towards the stairs. Sam didn't take his eyes off of Jill even as they descended down into the dark hallways of the subway. Looking at her back he could see the shotgun strapped to the harness on her that he hadn't noticed before. He felt somewhat relieved as she led the way. Why couldn't Kevin have given this much sense of security when he was with them? Stepping into the grey halls leading towards the ticket machine. Jill turned around and once everyone was through she closed the shutter behind them. "Okay we should be safe here, for a while at least." She said and everyone gathered around her. "You said you knew that Umbrella had facilities all around the city. How'd you find out about that?" She said crossing her arms. Sam saw Martin look around almost as if looking for permission to talk which Sam decided to give him with a head nod. "So how much time ya got? Cuz frankly this is something that I don't think we should skip any detail- Wait did you say facilities as in plural? As in there's more than one? All around the City?" He said and Sam didn't realize just how much of the city belonged to Umbrella, and just how in over their heads they were.


	4. Underbelly

Down in the subway the group had found a bench and were just sitting and resting as they shared the stories of their past horrors, Sam listened intently as Jill spoke of the mansion in the Arklay Mountains, the lab underneath it and how Umbrella had created monsters to use as weapons. In turn the six told her about how they were kidnapped by the same Umbrella organization, the months they were forced to participate in tests, how there used to be dozens of other test subjects and now they were the only survivors. Kelly stared at them wide-eyed and slack jaw as they exchanged horror stories. Jill shook her head. "Umbrella is going to pay for what they've done." She said and January laughed. "I'm pretty sure all of us are gonna pay if we don't get out of here." She said as she rubbed her arms, Sam took a few steps forward looking around at some benches and ticket dispensers.

Sam listened for anything particular as the strange echoes of the subway filled the air. He had taken the subway a dozen times but he'd never been down here with it so empty before. "I'll take a look around, you guys can stay here and rest." Jill said as she took a few steps forward drawing her gun. "I'll come too." Sam heard Martin say as he and the police woman walked past him, Martin now equipped with January's shovel. "Wait, me too!" Sam said as he trotted to catch up to them and the three of them walked towards the door labeled. 'Employees Only' Sam wondered what the inside must look like as he had never seen inside the employee's passage nor really cared to imagine it before. "So uh miss Valentine can I ask you something? Or maybe a few somethings?" Martin asked as Jill reached for the door opening it slowly. "As long as you're quiet, go ahead. Oh and just call me Jill okay?" She said as she turned towards him with a brief smile. Martin smiled back as he looked around. "Just uh so what was the scariest monster you ever killed? We ran away from a zombie elephant earlier tonight." He said and Jill looked back at him eyebrows raised. "Wow an Elephant... Wait the one at the zoo?" She asked and Sam gave a nod as he looked down the hallway that had dirty yellow colored walls, two doors were along the walls before it split into two other hallways in the center. "Yeah that's the one." Martin said and Jill frowned. "Aw I liked Oscar." She said raising her gun as she slowly walked down the hallway. Sam and Martin followed her. "I'd say the scariest thing I've killed would be... Well I'd say it would have to be the Tyrant." Sam's eyes grew big as he looked at her. "Tyrant?" He asked and she nodded looking down the crossing hallway. "Oh yeah like an eight foot maybe nine foot tall guy big claws for a hand." She said as she walked towards the door labeled break room. "Oh no a room where they break people!" Martin said as Jill opened the door, Sam shook his head as they all walked in. The room smelled musky as the first thing they noticed was another door on the far wall, four lockers aligned along the walls to the right of them four more lockers stood along a wall across from them, on the left were two vending machines one for snacks the other for drinks. Sam walked in and looked around. walking past the lockers Sam saw a chair with some old cracked cushions, and desk with a radio on it, tucked in an L shaped part of the room had two bunk beds. Sam wanted to lay on one and sleep for a lifetime.

Martin walked over and opened one of the lockers and looked in. "We killed these gross looking monsters that had no skin, all muscle, really gross long tongues and claws." He said as he opened another locker. Jill turned around and looked back into the hallway before she closed the door, her face stoic as she walked past Martin and Sam to the other door. Sam looked under the bunk beds and found a shoe box, he pulled it out and looked inside. Inside was a porno magazine. He looked back to make sure Jill wasn't looking before he opened it. He only got a few pages in before the pages were stuck together and he threw it in the garbage in disgust. "You guys find anything?" Jill asked as she walked back holstering her gun. "Just proof that this is the saddest place we've been so far." Sam muttered as he looked for something to clean his hands off. "I found this" Martin said as he held up a key. Jill smiled as she walked over and grabbed the key. "Nicely done, take it from the master of unlocking, keys are always a nice find." She said as she walked back to the door they entered from, Sam and Martin exchanged confused looks briefly. "Come on, we can tell everyone to wait in here, it'll probably be more comfortable than a wooden bench." Jill said and Sam had to agree. And they moved back towards the others.

The entire group followed them back to the break room when they arrived Tyrone and Becca sat on one of the bunk beds, while Kelly and Valerie sat on the other. Sam walked over to the vending machine and peered through the glass. There were several candy bars and bags of chips. "Anyone got any change?" Sam asked as he eyed a bag of barbecue chips. "Nah but I got you." Tyrone said as he walked over to the vending machine, lifting his leg and gave a hard kick to the front of the glass of the vending machine, it gave off a loud smack and it reverberated Tyrone momentarily caught off balance as he looked at the front. "Or not, sorry man." He said as he crossed his arms. Everyone looking at the two now. "Move aside fellas." Becca said as she dragged the chair from the desk over to them. She raised it and with a step forward swung it slamming into the vending machine, Sam watched as it bounced off and Becca brought the chair to the floor as she rubbed her hands together, the vending machine seemed unharmed. Martin ran forward and slammed him shoulder into it, bouncing off he held his shoulder. "Oooooow." He said as he walked around the room in a circle. Jill gave a chuckle as she walked over and pulled out a dollar bill from her wallet. "Watch and learn." She said as she inserted it into the machine. A second later the dollar came back out. Jill stared down at it.

After a brief moment of Jill just standing in front of the vending machine her hand on her gun, she gave a harsh kick much like Tyrone's and the front shattered around her boot, as she walked away she gave Sam a pat on his arm. "All yours." She said and Sam shrugged. "Master of unlocking alright." He mumbled as he and everyone else fished around the insides for snacks. "What do you guys say about checking out the subway train, maybe it can get us out of the city." Sam said as he opened the bag of chips. "Yeah I'm done for that." Tyrone said as he tossed some snacks to Valerie. Jill nodded as she took a bite from the chocolate bar in her hands. A murmur of agreement came from everyone as they continued to eat their snacks. Valerie stood up. "Hey um I need to go to the bathroom..." She stood there just glancing around. "Will um someone come with me?" She asked nervously. Jill finished her candy bar and wiped her hands on her pants. "Yeah I'll go with ya, smart to stay in pairs y'know?" She said as she drew her gun and held it to her side as she and Valerie moved towards the door. January quickly stood up. "Wait I gotta pee!" She said as she ran after them taking the gun Martin offered as she walked past. Sam watched them leave as he sat on the bunk bed and felt himself shiver a little, his wet jeans still chilled his body. He slipped his wet shoes and socks off and slid his feet under the blanket. Martin sat on the same bed as he did and noticed and sat closer to Sam at the foot of the bed and Sam tucked his feet under Martin's leg for a bit of extra warmth. 

Sam slowly opened his eyes drowsily, unaware he had even dozed off. He let out a yawn as he glanced around the room. Martin still sat on the foot of the bed fiddling with something in his hands that looked like in might have some wires involved but otherwise everyone else was gone. Sam let out a long yawn catching the mechanic's attention. "Oh you're up." He said with a smile and Sam smiled a little. "You guys could have woken me up." Sam muttered as he sat up a little his neck somewhat stiff from sleeping in a semi upward position. "Nah you looked like you needed the sleep." Martin said as he turned his attention back to whatever was in his hands. "Besides we drew on your face." He smiled and Sam's eyes went wide and Martin let out a small laugh. "Relax I'm kidding." Martin glanced back at Sam his smile now a sly smirk, Sam frowned and slightly pushed Martin with his foot, which thankfully felt much warmer now. Martin put the device in his hands into his backpack and then grabbed and scratched the bottom of Sam's foot causing the boxer to let out a light laugh as he pulled his foot back, then turned his gaze back to Sam. "You ready to move?" Sam looked down at his shoes dreading having to put them back on and wear them all around the subway. "Yeah I guess... But since we are alone.." Sam smiled as he leaned back and moved his foot closer to Martin's crotch rubbing it slightly. Martin smiled back as he moved closer as Sam wrapped his arms around Martin's waist. "I dunno when the others are gonna come back." He said and Sam let out a grunt. "Don't care, M'horny" Sam mumbled into Martin's neck as he began to kiss and he felt a hand on his crotch which was a fairly stiff tent now. "Me too. I just wanna.." Martin leaned his head back so Sam could kiss along his collar. "Say it." Sam muttered into Martin's ear. "I wanna suck your dick." Martin whispered and Sam smiled. "Fuck yeah you do." He said as kissed him on his mouth and Martin kissed back.

Sam pulled back and threw off the pink hoodie he had forgotten he was wearing and Martin started to work on Sam's belt and zipper. Sam watched as Martin slid down his pants to his knees and Martin leaned back, Sam lay there almost nude as he watched his own dick now half erect and Martin placed a hand around his and both smiled. "Damn it feels like it's been forever." Sam said and Martin slowly started moving his hand up and down much warmer than the damp jeans they were in moments ago. "It's only been like a day." Martin said quietly as he placed a hand on Sam's thigh rubbing along it as if trying to warm it too, Sam leaned back as Martin leaned forward. "I know, I just have a high libido." He said as he watched as Martin gave a warm breath to his dick before slowly putting his lips around the head. Martin slowly lowered his head swallowing more of Sam's cock, who let out a sigh. "Hey Martin?" Sam asked and Martin looked up as he gave a small hum of acknowledgement not stopping from his current task. "I was wondering if there was really anything you wanna do? Kinks I mean." Martin turned his eyes back down as he pulled his head up and then back down in a long slow motion that made Sam curl his toes he pulled up for a moment. "Not really, I mean I'm down to try stuff, well some stuff. There are somethings I'm not really into." He said as he went back down running his tongue along the tip, then he pulled away again. "What about you?" He asked as he slowly pumped Sam's shaft. "I mean I like a few- Ah." Sam let out a breath as Martin picked up his pace and kept jerking Sam off pausing only a brief moment as he went down and ran his tongue along the shaft. "I like a few things, I wanna try them when we aren't running for our lives and shit." Sam said as he ran his hand through Martin's curly hair. "Oh? like what?" Martin said just before he went back to sucking. "Fucking ass is one." Martin glanced up at that as he stopped for a moment then continued. Sam used his arm as support as he leaned back further, Martin closed his eyes as he slid Sam's cock further into his mouth pulling away very briefly to ask. "Anything else?" Before he continued, Sam closed his eyes too now. "Nipples." As soon as he said that Martin pulled away and moved his mouth towards Sam's left nipple sucking on it Sam let out a small gasp as he reached for his own dick pumping it a little faster. "I like dragging it out, but we can't really do that here, oh uh I tried a foot fetish that was fun, might try that again sometime." Martin pulled away but used his hands to rub the nipple he was sucking on, as the other hand lightly pinched the other. "Feet?" Sam slightly shrugged. "Yeah my ex was super into it and I guess it kinda rubbed off on me, That doesn't weird you out does it?" Sam suddenly felt a little self conscious and Martin shook his head as he went back towards Sam's dick. "No I mean it's new to me, but hey I don't know maybe when we're somewhere safe." He lowered his head and began to suck again. Sam reached down and played with Martin's hair wondering if they ever find some safe place.

Martin bobbed his head for several long minutes which Sam savored of moment, as Martin slowly picked up his speed one hand gently rubbing along Sam's thigh as the other played with his nipple. Sam opened his eyes as he felt himself grow closer to cumming . "Almost there." He whispered and Martin pulled away a brief moment and took a breath, he seemed to be slightly panting as he smiled and went back to sucking going faster and Sam locked his knees as Martin picked up speed and after a brief moment of Sam clenching every muscle before he let out a loud moan and Martin let out a gagging noise before Sam heard him swallow. "A-another!" Sam said as he arched his hips forward and he felt himself cum again. Martin kept his head there a brief moment before making another swallow sound and pulled away, Sam panting heavily as he brought a hand towards his forehead as he fell back. "Jesus H. Christ Martin... That was awesome." He said and Martin who had pulled away sat up and wiped his mouth. "I think I'm getting pretty good at this." He said and Sam nodded as a grin crept across his face. "Oh yeah, you definitely are." He said as he sat up. Martin seemed a little distracted as he made another swallow sound. "You good?" Sam asked and Martin nodded. "Yeah just uh, still getting used to it." He said and Sam looked him over. "Dude you're still dressed?" He asked and Martin looked himself over and sheepishly grinned. "Guess I was a little focused on something else." He said as he stood up and unzipped his own pants and his hard dick slipped out and Sam moved forward and took it in his hand. "Sam y-you don't have to-to..." Martin said as Sam began to move his hand back and forth slowly jerking Martin off. "Relax Marty, I wanna do this. Do you want me too?" He asked in a low voice and Martin eagerly nodded. "Oh yeah totally! I'm not really good at being uh charming but uh I mean I'm great at it this is just uh-" Martin began to mumble and ramble and Sam decided to just go ahead and put his mouth around Martin and he let out a shudder.

Sam closed his eyes as he moved his head forward and then back again as he enjoyed the taste and strange bliss that he felt. "Um S-Sam?" Martin asked and without opening his eyes Sam pulled away and gave out a questioning. "Yeah?" As he went back to Martin's dick, attempting to drive it deeper down his throat before he gagged a little and reeled back slightly. "If we find a safer place, then um... Do you want to uh fuck? I mean um me that is?" Now Sam opened his eyes and looked up, Martin's face was red and he was looking at the wall. "I just think it could be pretty hot." Martin said and Sam thought for a moment. "I mean I've never fucked a guy before... I've done anal before but uh how different could it be with a chick and a dude right?" Sam asked and Martin shrugged. "I dunno... Do you think it'll hurt?" He asked and Sam nodded. "Oh yeah, my ex said that it hurt real bad at first." He muttered as he pulled away jerking Martin off. Martin let out a small whine. "Man I don't like pain." He said and Sam looked up and placed his hands on the mechanic's hips. "Let's just worry about now and if we- no when we find a moment where we can actually take this more seriously, right now just enjoy." Sam said as he attempted to deep throat again and Martin placed a hand in Sam's hair scratching the scalp slightly and Sam shivered as the pleasurable sensation went down his spine.

Sam lost track of time as he enjoyed the slow rhythmic movement, he could taste the precum that came from Martin and found it strange how awhile ago the idea of sucking a dick would throw him into a fit of disgusted rage, now it was a small enjoyable break from the craziness that continued to follow him and his friends for the past two months. Martin continued to scratch Sam's scalp and he felt himself shiver in delight again. Martin began to move his hips in rhythm with Sam's movement, "F-Faster p-please?" Sam felt himself get hard again as Martin asked that, he obliged and moved faster closing his eyes again and pushing Martin's hard cock as far into his mouth as he could without gagging again. "Do you want me to cum somewhere else or?" Martin asked breathy and Sam didn't pull away instead he just placed his hands on Martin's ass noticing his jeans had slipped down and he felt bare skin but he still kept Martin in place hands firmly grasped on each cheek. "S-Sam..?" Martin stood on his tip toes for a moment as Sam moved faster, then after Martin bit down on his hand and let out a cry of pleasure Sam felt the warm cum shoot down his throat he quickly swallowed and pulled away. It tasted just like it did last time, strangely salty and sweet the texture was a little off putting still he couldn't help but feel an immense sense of satisfaction as Martin moved to sit on the bed. "Holy cow." Martin said and Sam smiled as he pulled his own pants up wishing they could cuddly like before. "I just wish we could have done more." Sam said as he reached for the hoodie Valerie had given him. Martin slipped his own pants on and stood up. "Stupid zombies keeping people from getting laid!" He said as he fastened his belt. Sam let out a groan. "Too true, stupid zombies." He stood up and slipped on the hoodie. "Okay back to the stupid apocalypse."

Walking out the door to the break room Sam shivered as his the lower half of his body cold again as he was wearing the still damp clothes. "You two have fun?" Sam froze as he looked over and saw January standing there leaning against the wall with the biggest shit eating grin. "I don't think I know what you mean!" Martin said too quickly and too loudly. January pushed herself off the wall as she started walking towards the door leading towards the entrance they had arrived in awhile ago. "What uh um did you uh see? Not there wasn't anything to see, just so you know." Martin said and Sam planted a hand over his face as he let out a groan. "Oh I saw plenty, if I was a zombie I'd have bitten into Martin's bare ass, thankfully I wasn't, now come on. The others think they found a way to use the train to get out of here." She said as she led the way out the door and then went down the stairs towards the platform. "Um maybe don't tell anyone?.. Again?" Martin asked quietly and January waved a hand as she walked. "Relax lover boy, I still don't care. Just don't get yourselves killed when you guys boink uglies." She said as she turned and pointed a finger at Martin then looked to Sam. "Frankly I'm a little jealous." And Martin's eyebrows shot up. "Really?" He asked voice filled with confusion, and January let out a laugh as she turned around. "Pfft no!" She said and Sam rolled his eyes and Martin slumped his shoulders.

They walked down the stairs and Sam looked around it was a vast open area with blood trails scattered around a few bodies lay nearby some were on the other side of the platform. Sam felt sad seeing somewhere that should be filled with people just living their daily lives, going to or from work. Instead blood and walking corpses were all that could be found, although the same could be said about the entire city. "Over here." January said as she waved them towards the only a single train car on the tracks as the rest of the train was buried under a collapsed tunnel, towards the back stood the group. As they walked closer Valerie noticed them and waved. "Glad you're up." She said as everyone looked towards them. "Ha, I forgot you were wearing that." Tyrone said and Sam could see that there was a frown on some of the faces before they turned to see Sam coming closer Jill raised an eyebrow. "Hey glad to have you back." She said as she motioned her head towards the train. "We have an issue." She said and Sam looked at the train car, then to the one half buried under the rubble. "Let me guess, we can't get the train free." He said and Jill stepped aside showing the where the two cars connected and there was a strange contraption locking them together. "That's right." Sam let out a sigh. "This fucking city." He grumbled.

With the second train car covered in the collapsed tunnel debris the new goal was to find out how to disconnect the first train and get it on the move, though they had very little knowledge of how to actually do that the group agreed that they should split up to see if they can uncover anything new, Sam was going to go with Martin, Jill, and Kelly to check in the employee's passageway while the others checked the east side concourse and ticket gate. "Sounds like a plan." Jill said as she checked her gun's magazine. "We meet back here in an hour, sounds good?" She asked and everyone nodded. Sam watched as they walked as the other group walked towards the east side stairs and he turned and followed the others towards the west side where they had arrived. Climbing up the stairs to get to the employee passageway Sam eyed the guns on Jill's person it and felt a sense of relief when he looked at Martin's handgun and his own shovel. Kelly was unarmed and stood in the center of the group. At the top of the stairs Jill set a hand on the doorknob and turned back towards the others. "These hallways are pretty narrow so stay behind me." She said as she opened it slowly and walked forward with a more relaxed approach than when they first arrived, with Jill in the front followed by Kelly then Martin and Sam at the rear.

They walked towards the door labeled control room and went inside. A large terminal with several buttons stood on the far end of the room, Jill walked towards it and pressed a button and flipped a switch. "Damn I knew that would be too easy. Power's off." She said and Martin let out a groan. "Can't we catch a break for once." He said as he opened a desk drawer, Sam found a safe under one of the desks in the far back of the room. "Hey cop lady." He called out catching Jill's attention. "You said you were like a master of unlocking right? Wanna take a crack at this?" He pointed towards the safe and Jill walked over taking note of it. "Hmm, I'll see what I can do." She said as she pulled out something from her pocket and stuck it into the keyhole of the safe and she fiddled with it before Sam could hear a click and Jill turned back with a smirk as she slowly opened the safe. Sam had to give the cop lady credit and gave her a nod as they pilfered the locked away goods. "Holy shit! Booze!" Sam let out as he pulled out a large unopened bottle of some kind of scotch. "It's got a note." Martin said as he pulled the slip of paper that was taped on the bottle. "For Abigail." He read aloud and he flipped the card over. "Congratz on the marriage! Glad to have you back, hope you had an amazing honeymoon." He said and looked around with a sad expression. "Should we leave it?" He asked and Sam shook his head. "I don't think anyone else is coming for it, we might as well take it." He said as Martin nodded putting it in his backpack. Jill raised her hand as if to make a point. "Oh hey think about it this way, If Abigail is still on her honeymoon then she isn't here right?" She said and Martin seemed to brighten at that. "Yeah, good for you Abigail." He said with a smile. Sam smiled too, mostly because now they had some booze guilt free.

Not finding anything of use in the control room, they moved further down the halls and around the corner walking down the dirty halls they went left as the right hallway led towards the bathrooms, the left hallway led to further with another turn on the left and a final right turn at the end. Sam walked to the end and turned right as he walked past the second door leading to the break room he saw another room that had the word breaker on the door. "Hey we can turn on the power from here right?" He said and he jogged to the door and grabbed the doorknob however he was met with resistance as the door refused to budge. "Shit it's locked." He muttered and Jill walked over and peered into the door knob. "Hey uh kid um, Martin. You still have that key?" She asked and Martin fished the small key out of his pocket and attempted to unlock the door and shook his head. "Nope won't even fit." He said and the group turned back and went down the other hallway finding a storage room and a blue door. Walking towards the storage room they tried to open it. "It's locked and it doesn't even have a keyhole, that's dumb." Sam said and they all turned towards the blue door. "What do you think that door leads to?" Kelly asked as they walked closer, Jill took the key from Martin and after trying to open the door finding it locked, she slipped the key in and it turned and the door slowly opened. "Guess we'll find out." Jill said as she walked through.

The door led to a large stairwell that spiraled around a fan under a grate. "Freaky." Sam echoed throughout the room and they slowly made their way down the stairs that led to a flat area before leading down another set of stairs leading to yet another set, at the bottom of it all was a door. Sam looked around as their footsteps echoed against the metal stairs. "So cool." Martin said and his own voice echoed. When they reached the bottom they pushed the door open revealing another hallway though the walls were much a brighter grey. Jill raised her gun as she stepped forward and slowly peeked around each corner before she raised her handgun and moved forward, after seeing the way was clear she motioned for the others to move closer. Sam walked forward with much more caution than when they were upstairs as being this far underground set him on edge, passing by large ducts along the floor some had trails of blood leading into them, or out of them he wasn't sure. "Do you guys hear something?" Kelly said and they all grew quiet. "Water?" Martin said as Sam could now hear the sound of rushing water. They moved forward and when Jill turned a left corner she stopped. "Huh. That's not good." She said as she holstered her gun. Everyone walked forward reaching her as they saw a set of stairs leading further down vanishing beneath a flooded hallway. "Well shit are we gonna have to swim?" Sam said as he walked forward, peering into the dark water. "Not sure, maybe we should keep looking around before we taking any kind of plunge." Jill said as she turned around and walked down the hallways taking a different turn. Sam looked at the water a moment longer then turned and followed, the halls seemed to lead into a loop with another path leading down into the water a doorway with the words 'Refuse' on it the group decided that they would avoid that room for now, another hallway leading off from the loop towards another door labeled 'Emergency Power Room'. Sam went towards the door. "What do you think people? Locked or unlocked?" He said as he looked back and Martin crossed his fingers. "Please let something be easy for once." He heard Martin say as he looked forward and tried to turn the knob and the door slowly opened. "Well that's a welcomed change." Sam muttered, they walked into the room and saw a breaker with a large switch, Martin walked in with the others following behind. "Is it gonna be that easy?" He said as he reached for the switch slowly placing his hand on the breaker switch, then he pulled it and they waited. "That's it?" Jill asked looking around. Kelly slowly looked at her. "What the hell were you expecting?" then she looked at her watch. "I guess we could head back early." She said and the group turned around to head back towards the meeting place.

Walking back Sam thought about the area and stopped as they passed it. "Hey guys I'm gonna look through here." He said and the others looked at him. "You sure? Didn't you just get dry?" Martin asked and Sam walked to the stairs leading to the water and slipped off his shoes and then started to take off the hoodie. "Yeah, That's why I'm leaving this here. Do me a favor and find me a towel or something?" He said and he stripped to his boxers. Jill eyed him with a raised eyebrow. "You sure?" could be dangerous down there." She said and Sam scoffed. "Probably have to look around here eventually, let's just get this over with." He said as he stepped into the water a flash of cold shot up his leg and he pulled his foot out of the water. "Oh this is gonna suck." He muttered. "W-wait! I'll uh go too." Martin said as he started to strip but stopped for a moment as he turned towards Jill and Kelly. "Um could you uh look the other way please?" Martin asked as Jill gave a chuckle as she turned away Kelly gave a small eye roll as she turned away too. Sam watched as Martin awkwardly undress and placed his clothes on top of his backpack and in nothing but his underwear slowly walked towards the water. "Hooooly shit that's cold!" Martin muttered as he walked further into the water as he walked past Sam followed his step. "Oooooh no my boys..!" Sam cried out as the water got just past his thighs. "Here take this with you. Good luck guys." Jill said as she held out her handgun, Sam walked back up the stairs and took the gun from her then handed it to Martin and they both walked further into the water feeling a more flat surface at the end of the stairs as the water was just past Sam waist and Martin's belly button. "At l-l-least it's only w-w-waist deep." Martin said as they walked further down the dimly lit hallway.

Sam slowly walked forward through the cold water turning the corner leading to a hallway that led up the stairs they passed earlier the only noticeable thing was a door along the wall, the sound of rushing water coming from the other side. "Hey Martin, I think the water's coming from in here." Sam said as he slowly walked closer. Martin followed closely as they walked towards the door, stepping closer Sam could feel a cold current along his legs coming from underneath the door. He slowly opened the door and pushed against the water, Martin leaned against the door to help as the two pushed it enough to where they could walk through the current pushing the door closed again. Inside the room was a large pipe with water gushing out of it. "Sammy look." Martin pointed towards small platform just barely raised out of the water, the busted pipe leading up the wall along the platform, a valve on the pipe. "We can turn off the water." Martin said as he waded through the water towards the valve. "Right so turn that bitch off- What the-!?" Sam felt something grab his leg and he lost his balance and fell forward. "Sam-!" Martin's voice was cut off as Sam felt himself submerge underwater. Feeling something grip hard against his leg he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his calf. He let out a grunt of pain which bubbled out. the dark water was impossible to see through, he moved his hands towards where the pain came from and felt something he tried to push it away but whatever it was, wasn't moving grappled tightly on his left leg. He felt two hands grab under his arms and pull him backwards slowly, he struggled to hold his breath as he tried to push the creature off his leg and after a few long moments of this underwater struggle Sam felt something hard scrape along his back as he was pulled up what he guessed was stairs as he felt more objects leading up and he slowly broke the surface and he took in a breath of air before he let it out again. "AH Fuck something's got me!" Sam cried out as Martin pulled him further up the stairs leading up to the raised platform. "Oh crap!" Martin as he pulled again now Sam's lower half pulled up and the head of a very water logged zombie poked out of the water, it looked towards them with it's distant white eyes and reached a hand up grabbing Sam's arm and pulled itself closer letting out a watery gurgle as it went to bite Sam again. "Get off me you soggy bitch!" Sam grunted as he reeled his arm back punching the zombie hard across it's face, the zombie slipped back and Sam felt it scratch along him as it slowly lost it's grip and fell into the water. Sam began to kick it loose and once it was further away he raised his left leg spotting the bloody bite mark and shoved his foot forward kicking the zombie hard in the head. The zombie fell backwards into the water with a splash. Sam pulled himself up the steps and out of the water and Martin raised his gun towards the water. "Sam are you okay!?" Martin cried out and Sam slowly stood up. "Yeah I'll be fine." He said and the zombie just barely poked out of the water and slowly move towards the two, it's head bobbing up and down. Martin aimed and fired hitting it in the forehead it slowly submerged again before the zombies back surfaced and slowly drifted aimlessly in the water.

Sam let out a hiss of pain. "Fuck man, I forgot how much that hurts." He said as he raised his leg to get a better look at the bite on the back of it, blood mixing with the water as both ran along his leg. "Fuck man, if it wasn't for the virus, you'd be..." Martin started as he looked at the wound, Sam nodded. "I'd turn, yeah." It was moments like these that made Sam a little grateful that he was used in the test because that meant he didn't have to worry about being infected when he got bit, some people weren't so lucky and the effect would only be delayed, Sam remembered hearing someone turning in the middle of the night. But for Sam and the others they got bit several times and never turned.

Martin walked over and slowly turned the valve it creaked with each twist and Sam watched as the water gushing out of the busted pipe slowly began to lessen then stop. "Well I'm sure that did something." Martin said as he turned back to Sam. "Can you walk?" He asked and Sam stood up putting some pressure on his leg. "Of course I can dude." He said and he turned towards the flooded hallway and slowly started to walk into the murky water. "Come on, We gotta meet up with the others." He said as he realized he dropped the shovel somewhere in the water. "Watch your step, don't want anymore surprises." Sam said bitterly as he pushed the floating corpse out of his way as he walked towards the door which was slightly easier to open without the water current pushed against it. opening it they walked out and moved back to Jill and Kelly. "Ow!" Martin cried out and Sam quickly turned back. "What!?" He called out and Martin held up a hand. "It's fine, I just stubbed my toe on something." He said as he held his gun out for Sam to grab. "Here take this real fast." Martin said as Sam took the gun from him, Martin took a breath and ducked under the water. Sam waited and almost grew worried before Martin burst up taking in a breath. Lookie!" Martin called out as his wet hair fell over his eyes, he held up some strange plate that looked like some old guy's head. "What is it?" Sam asked and Martin shrugged. "I dunno." He said and slowly walked forward and they both moved back to where the girls waited. coming around the corner they saw Jill with her gun raised just a few steps away from the water. "Are you guys okay? I heard a gunshot." She said and Sam slowly stepped up out of the water. "Oh yeah there was a floater but Marty shot it." He said as he walked over to his clothes, Martin stood in the water for a moment. "What's wrong?" Sam asked for he looked at Jill and Kelly who were looking at him. "Oh. Uh could you?" Sam turned to Jill who looked at them and let put a sigh as she turned and walked around the corner and was followed by Kelly. "Come on man. "Sam muttered as Martin shyly walked out of the water grabbing his clothes. "Sorry it's just- I dunno, I don't want girls to see my underwear." He whispered and shook his head water droplets scattering everywhere. Sam used the pink hoodie to dry himself off a little and slipped on his pants and shoes tucking his socks into Martin's backpack. "We gotta loot some dry clothes soon." Sam said as he put on the pink hoodie. "Yeah, agreed." Martin said as he slipped on his over shirt.

Now in the better light Martin held up the object he had fished out of the water, it was a dull grey metal plate with an old man's face engraved on it. "Do you... Do you think this is one of those things we need?" Martin asked and Sam raised his eyebrows, that hadn't even occurred to him. "Maybe, good find kid." Jill said as she slapped his back. Martin gave a grin as he looked at the door leading back up. "Well come on, we got one half of the problem solved!" He said as he rushed forward, the others following close behind. Walking up the stairs, Sam felt the bite on his leg sting a bit with each step.

Moving through the halls of the employee passage Sam looked around. "Wait guys." He said and the group stopped to look back at him. "Something's not right." He said as he looked around trying to figure out why he felt so uneasy, glancing around a feeling of dread came over him. "What's wrong?" Kelly asked as she slowly rubbed her arms nervously. Sam continued to look around before his gaze stopped. "Was that always open?" He asked as he pointed towards a vent with the cover lying on the floor below it. Jill raised her gun and looked around. "I don't think so... Come on, stay behind me." She said as she moved forward and everyone followed her moving with a new sense of urgency. Passing down the halls Martin turned his head to the control room door they passed. "Wait we have to get the train running." He said as he opened the door then he froze. "What's wrong?" Sam asked as he looked over Martin's should. The room was in chaos desks and cabinets were knocked over and there was a trail of blood leading to a large vent in the corner of the room. Martin slowly walked in and made his way to the controls, Sam following him nerves on edge. "Something was following us." Jill said as she walked in behind them. Martin looked over the controls and after he pressed a few buttons he turned back to the others. "I hope that did it, let's get out of here." He said eyeing the bloody vent.

Moving out and down towards the subway platform. Spotting the same train car as before they moved closer at a light jog across the platform. Sam right behind Martin, he still couldn't shake the strange feeling that something wasn't right. Martin suddenly stopped his shoes skidding as he fell back. "What the hell is that!?" He cried out as he pointed towards the top of the train car. Sam followed his finger towards whatever had spooked him, Sam's body gave an uncomfortable shiver. On top of the train was what appeared to be an insect, it looked like a flea only much larger, almost the size of a cow. "What the fuck is that!?" Sam's voice echoed out and the flea's head jerked side to side and then looked at them before it hopped off of the train towards them. Sam jumped to his left away from where the flea landed with a heavy thud as it's abdomen slapped the tiled floor. Jill jumped away rolling along the floor as she re positioned herself aiming at the flea and firing her handgun hitting the side of it's large body. The flea seemed to flinch as the bullets pierced it's body but it turned towards her and lunged it's body smacking hard against her knocking her back off of the platform. Sam watched as the flea turned back towards the group. "What the fuck!?" He heard January's voice echo across the room as Sam looked towards the source he spotted the rest of their group running towards them guns raised, but Sam also noticed a smaller flea about the size of a large dog start to crawl out of the air duct behind them. "Look out!" Sam pointed as the other group turned and spotted the other flea.

Sam turned back towards the much larger flea, getting back to his feet, he raised his fists ready to punch the flea in it's face. "Bring it on ugly!" He said as he rushed forward smacking it hard across the face, it reeled back and swung it's front legs in a wide arc as it leaned forward hitting Sam like a whip. "Ah fuck!" Sam cried out as he fell away hand pressed against the part where the hoodie was torn a red mark on his skin beneath but there was no blood drawn though the pain stung. Jill stood back up and fired another two shots. Martin stood up and fired too. The flea stepped back letting out an unsettling high pitch screech as it fell to it's side, legs twitching and shook violently as it eventually lay still. "Fuck! I hate bugs." Jill said as she turned towards the other who were dealing with the other flea, though looking out across the platform and across the tracks were several more fleas slowly walking towards the groups. "Oh fuck!" Sam said watching as he counted about nine of the smaller fleas crawled closer.

Gun fire rang out as across the platforms echoing throughout the tunnels. Strange clicking noises set Sam's teeth on edge, He looked around his friends fighting the bugs that assaulted them. Several fleas crawling closer when the first of the smaller fleas got closer it bounced a few feet into the air. Sam took a step back as he watched it bounce closer, he raised his fist again more out of habit than any real threat. A gunshot rang out behind him as the flea dropped to the floor wriggling before it lay still. Sam looked back over his shoulder and saw Martin lower his handgun. "Everyone! This way!" Martin called out as he waved towards the group. Sam turned back and ran towards the mechanic. "In the train friends!" Martin said as he aimed at another flea and fired. Sam did as he was told and ran back towards the train, running in he looked out and watched as everyone ran closer. "Come on!" Sam waved at his friends when suddenly something slammed into his back and he fell forward. The clicking and squeaking was right in his ear as he began to panic. "G-Get it off me!" Sam cried out as he felt something press against his shoulder. "I got ya!" Tyrone's voice said as he felt the flea on his back was removed and slammed against the seats of the subway. Tyrone then stepped over and stomped hard on it, it's guts squeezing out it's side. "Thanks Ty!" Sam said as he was lifted to his feet. "Any time Sammy." Tyrone said as he wiped his shoe. "Move!" Jill's voice called out as Sam and Tyrone stepped out of the way of the door and everyone ran in. Sam watched as everyone ran in though something was wrong as January let out a cry of pain as she was being supported by Valerie who had her hand pressed hard against January's arm both covered in blood. "Jan! Are you alright!?" Sam asked and January let out a groan. "Doing just fine, close the damn door!" She cried out and Martin ran to the head of the train and after a moment the doors closed. "What the fucking shit!?" January hissed as she pressed her hand over Valerie's pressing against her arm. "Man I hate bugs." Tyrone said as he watched the fleas crawl up the windows outside the train. Sam watched as they crawled up the walls of the platform retreating back to the vents they crawled out of. "You okay?" Becca asked and Sam turned back to January who everyone was huddled around. "I got bit by some big ass bug, I'm more pissed than hurt." She said as Valerie fished out the first aid kit from her backpack and took out the gauze and alcohol.

After several long moments of waiting for the giant fleas to leave, Jill walked over to January eyeing the white gauze that had some red bleeding through. "Listen. There's something I have to tell you." She sounded a little more somber than Sam would like and he watched as Jill stepped closer. "I don't want to worry you about this but... There's a chance you've been infected." She said and January looked up and around. "Infected?" Kelly asked and Jill nodded. "These monsters were made from something called the T-Virus, you all know about Umbrella." She gestured to the group. "Ugh fucking Umbrella, Bunch of bitchy bastards." January said as she stood up from the subway seat. "Don't worry lady, I don't get infected." She said and the train grew silent, Sam glanced around then looked to Martin who looked as concerned as he felt. "Um weren't we keeping that a secret?" He whispered and Sam shrugged. Jill looked around. "What do you mean?" She asked Sam watched as she grew a little more tense. January looked around then let out another groan. "Yeah whatever, Umbrella did something to us. We don't turn into those undead freaks." She said as she waved her hand around. "Are you serious?" Jill asked looking around at each of them. Valerie cleared her throat. "Um yeah, the whole time we were in that testing lab place, we were fighting those things and when we got bit, it hurt yeah, but we wouldn't turn. I mean uh there were some who weren't so lucky." She said and Jill looked at each of them. "You all have been... Infected before?" She asked and they exchanged looks. "Pretty much darlin." Becca said as she lifted her shirt up a little to show an old bite mark on her ribs though it was just a scar now. Martin grabbed the collar of his shirt and revealed the bite mark from the dog at the facility. Sam watched her expression, looking for something that would give away her feelings towards this news. "You know I got bit like ten minutes ago." He blurted out and Jill glared at him. "Right here." He rolled up his pant leg and showed the still fresh bite mark on his calf. "Sam! Why didn't you tell me?" Valerie said as she grabbed the first aid kit and moved to Sam. Jill watched as Valerie went to work patching up the boxer's leg. Kelly stared at them wide-eyed.

Jill stood there leaning against the closed door, arms crossed eyes closed. "Um miss uh Jill?" Martin asked but Jill ignored him. "Right um I'll just um leave this here." He pulled the plate out of his bag and set it on the seat next to her. "So what now?" Becca asked the group, Sam rubbed his leg where the bandage was. "Not sure, but Marty boy found one of those fugly pieces of crap." January said as she looked out the window. "We just gotta find the other one now." She said as she flipped off a flea that crawled out of the vent then wandered off. "But where on earth could it be?" Valerie asked and Jill pushed off of the wall and walked forward towards the group. "Not sure but I say we get moving soon." She said and everyone looked at her. "Done sulking?" January asked and Becca smacked her arm lightly causing her to wince. "Right sorry, It's just I knew a lot of people who turned after they got bit, and hearing that you all are immune, it just feels kinda like a big middle finger." She said as she tapped a finger on her arm. " Courtesy of Umbrella." She said bitterly. and January sighed. "Yeah I get that." She said and stood up. "So I figure the biggest way to send a middle finger back is to get out of this shit alive, sound good?" She said and there was a quiet sense of agreement as everyone nodded. Martin suddenly perked up. "Oh I found something!" He said as he reached into his backpack, then he pulled out the scotch. "Ta da!" He smiled as several faces brightened up. "I say we use this to celebrate once we leave this creepy place." He said and Tyrone took the bottle. "Oh this is nice, good find little guy." He said as he gave a pat on Martin's back and set the bottle on the seat. "Hey Sam?" Sam turned to Valerie, "Yeah?" He asked somewhat annoyed. "I- I uh just wanted to give you this back." She said as she pulled out Sam's shirt and jacket out of her bag. Sam looked at his old jacket and let out a sigh. "It's not completely dry but maybe you want it back?" She asked and Sam smiled. "Thanks Val. Yeah I think it's better than well." He looked down at the pink hoodie and Valerie chuckled. "Hey that's my second favorite hoodie!" She said and Sam smiled back at her. "Be safe." They both said at the same time before Sam turned and walked away.

With the promise of a nice drink Sam was all too eager to get out of this bug infested place. "Alright lets get the hell out of here!" Sam said as he walked closer to the door Jill stood next to. When a noise came over the intercom, a chime followed by a female voice. "Attention, the train will be arriving shortly please remain behind the yellow line. Attention, the train will be arriving shortly please remain behind the yellow line." Everyone exchanged looks. Becca looked around "A train?" She asked confused and the voice repeated the message several times. Everyone gathered to the window looking out to the other set of tracks. "Oh shit." Kelly pointed towards the collapsed tunnel. Sam felt his adrenaline rise as the feeling of the impending train crash crept into his mind. "Should we be this close? I get the feeling we really shouldn't move so close." Martin said as the lights quickly started to move closer to them from the tunnel. "I agree with Marty!" January said as she and everyone quickly backed away from the window as a subway train came barreling through crashing into the tunnel debris an ear splitting crash echoed. Sam fell to the ground as the train they were on gave a violent shake and more rubble smashed through the window showering everyone with bits of broken glass and chunks of rubble. "Oh my shit!" Sam cried out as he covered his head with his hands. "Did we die? No? Okay cool." Martin asked as he looked around. "I smell smoke." Valerie said as Sam looked up and noticed black smoke billowing from the crash. "Fire!" Tyrone said as he looked up, Jill jumped up to her feet. "Everyone okay?" She asked and everyone slowly got to their feet. "Yeah, I think so." Becca said as she held out a hand to Sam helping him to his feet.

Jill jumped to her feet first and ran out the doors of the subway, checking both directions, gun raised. "Why aren't the sprinklers putting out the fire?" Valerie asked and Sam looked up to the ceiling filling with smoke. "I think I know! I'll be right back!" Martin said as he ran out to the stairs "Wait where are you going!?" Jill yelled after him and Sam sprinted after the mechanic. "We gotta figure out how to get that stupid train loose!" Sam said as he followed Martin. "I know but think, the sprinklers are supposed to be automatic right?" He asked and Sam gave a shrug. "I dunno, I guess?" He answered as they made it to the top of the stairs and Martin pushed the door to the employee passage open. "The reason why, is because the pipe was busted and maybe the water went somewhere else. Somewhere like..." Martin started as he turned back to Sam who stared off. "Ooooh the pool downstairs!" He said and the two went back towards the stairwell. "So I was thinking if I can fix that pipe then maybe we can turn on the sprinklers." Sam cocked an eyebrow. "So?" Martin raced down the hallway with Sam close behind him. "The train won't go if there's a fire on the tracks it's some kind of safety measure. If we want to get the train up and going we gotta put out the fire." Martin said as he reached for the door nob. "Well why didn't you say so?" The voice of Jill caught them both off guard as they turned back towards her. "Oh come on, like I'd leave you two to run off and get eaten." She walked forward and pushed the door open, Martin turned to Sam and grinned then turned and ran after Jill.

They moved down the stairwell, a familiar air as their footsteps were more hurried this time. "Heads up, here they come!" Jill called and Sam could see further down the stairs a few of the fleas start to crawl up the stairs towards them. "Shit alright, let's kick some ass!" Sam said as he raised his fists, Jill looked at him then back to the bugs and fired at the fleas scoring a hit on one then the other bounced up several steps closer, Martin fired twice but missed as the flea bounced closer. "Not good!" Martin cried as he tried to fire again but his gun made a click. "No ammo!" He said taking a step back and Sam stepped forward. "Just like old times!" He said with a smile, The flea gave a long hop as it went straight at his torso, Jill noticed and stepped in between them and fired grazing the flea sending it off it's course and they watched as it fell back down a few of the steps before it righted itself and began to bounce back towards them. "Why the hell would you try and punch that thing!?" Jill cried as she reloaded her gun. "Cuz we don't have to worry!" Sam said as he walked in front of her towards the flea. "Of course you have to worry!' Jill pushed him aside and fired again dropping the flea. "If you get bit you-" Sam held up his hand cutting her off. "It itches for awhile but that's it! We don't get infected!" He said and started walking further down. "That doesn't mean you're invisible!" she yelled as she chased him down the stairs, Martin looking around before awkwardly following.

Sam went down the steps to the door that let to the basement hallways. "Hey are you listening to me!?" Jill called as she rushed forward and grabbed him by the arm. "Listen, this shit is serious if you don't treat it as such then people will die!" She said pushing him against the wall but Sam simply glared down at her. "You think I don't know that!? I've seen people get torn to pieces!" He growled pushing her off of him. "For almost two months I went to bed wondering if I'd wake up to some asshole eating my face off! Or turning into one of them! Or hell maybe those assholes would get tired of us and just put a bullet in us in our sleep!" He yelled at her, her face showed stoic though he didn't care. "I'm sorry Umbrella did horrible things to you but they did horrible things to a LOT of people. Including my whole team!" She yelled back. Sam watched her for a moment neither really giving an inch. "Um, S-Sam?" Martin's quiet voice came up from behind Jill. "We um, we should really get that sprinkler working." He all but whispered. Sam looked at Martin then to Jill and walked past them to the flooded hallway. Martin walked into the water fully clothed this time and Jill followed Sam stood there for a moment before going into the water along with them. They waded through the water until they got to the pump room. Martin splashed his way over to the water pipe with the crack in the side. "So what do you need? A spare pipe or?" Jill asked as she looked at the pipe in front of them. Martin reached into his backpack and pulled out some black tape. "As much tape as we can wrap around it." He said pulling the tape to full arms length.

After several long minutes and a few more rolls of tape that Martin had on him. "Well it ain't pretty, but I think this will do." Martin said as he tossed the used up roll of tape into the water. Sam looked at the pipe wrapped in several layers of tape, and he had to agree, the pipe looked sketchy. "It just needs to last until we put out the fire." Martin said as he practically swam to the steps leading to the valve. Sam followed him up the stairs and moved to the valve. "Let me. I got this." He said before he grabbed the valve and gave a grunt as he turned it, with a loud creak it slowly moved. After a moment water could be heard rushing through the pipes and the taped up spot started to leak small drops of water. "Okay, now we hurry back to see if that work!" Martin said as he waded back to the door, Sam and Jill followed. "Sorry for barking at you." Jill mumbled to Sam. "Yeah same." He mumbled back. "Aw you guys are being best friends." Martin said as he looked over his shoulder. Sam looked at Jill and frowned. "I'm just saying kid, take care of yourself. I'm sure your friends want you alive." She said and Sam grumbled an agreement. "Come on, we better hurry." Jill said and the group rushed out of the water.

The climb up the stairs was much more lively than before as now dozens of the fleas were crawling towards them, some just as big as the first one they had encountered. "Shit we have to go now!" Jill called out as she ran past one of the much larger fleas. Sam tried to run past too, only for it to turn towards him, clicking it's mouth, its head jerking side to side. A shiver went down his spine as the flea slowly lumbered closer to him. Martin hid behind Sam as they both took a step back. Jill turned and fired her shotgun the loud blast echoed through the stairwell as the flea it hit was launched to the floor it's blood pooling beneath it, Sam gave a shiver watching it writhe until it stopped moving but another of the smaller ones caught his attention as it bounced towards Jill's back. "Look out!" He cried as he rushed forward Jill turned right as it slammed it's body into her, throwing her off balance as she fell back using the shotgun to push the flea away from her but it tried desperately to latch onto her as it wriggled in against her. Sam hurried forward grabbing the flea by the back of it's head and pulling it away from Jill. They struggled there for a few only a second before Sam managed to pick up the flea and toss it down the stairs. It slammed hard against the steps as it fell, once it reached the bottom it wasn't long before it righted itself and began to climb the steps again. "Thanks for the assist." Jill said getting back to her feet. They continued to run up the stairs, Sam felt his legs start to burn as he try to take two steps at a time. The fleas seemed to be adamant about getting there prey, no matter how many Jill put down, which was any in their path. The last one in their way was hopping towards them when Jill took aim and fire scattering chunks of it all over the door. Sam was the first to reach it and he threw it open and they all rushed through.

Though the employee passageway was just as bad as the stairwell. Sam watched as the vents they passed had several smaller bugs crawl out of them. "Holy shit how many of these things are there!?" Sam's voice echoed through the halls as more of the bugs clicking started to drown it out. "I've never hated bugs more than I do now!" Martin cried out as they practically kicked the door down leading into the ticket gate area. "Fuck there's more of them!" Jill shouted as she reloaded her shotgun before cocking it and taking aim. Sam watched as she walked forward then turned to Martin who slammed the door shut behind them as a thud came from it followed by another. "We should really get going now!" Martin said as he looked around Jill looked at him then the stairs. "You're right, come on run!" She said as she shoved the butt of the shotgun hard against a large flea then turned it towards the massive insect and fired sending it back in pieces. Sam started to make his way to the stairs leading down to the platform grabbing Martin by the hand and started to run towards the stairs. After making sure there weren't any of the monstrous insects close by she followed them. The sound of gunfire coming from the platform caught all of there attention. The faint sound of the sprinklers could be heard from downstairs. Sam hoped that the others were okay as he practically flew down the stairs reaching the platform, he saw his friends standing there with several of the bug corpses surrounding them. "Sam! Where the fuck have you guys been!?" January shouted as she stuck her head out of the train. Sam noticed the sprinklers were going off as everything was drenched as water fell from the ceiling. Everyone was soaked to the bone.

Valerie waved towards him. "Hey you guys did it! Look what I found in the crashed train!" She said as she held up another one of the plates, similar to the one Martin found but a slightly different color and shape. "Sweet we can get out of here!" Martin said as he ran down the stairs and to the train, Valerie ran to put it in place making small splashes as she ran. Sam smiled as he ran to the train along with the others. Valerie placed the other founder plate into the designated slot and after a creak the train cars disconnected and she sprinted back to the now free car. "Holy shit guys we can get out of here!" Tyrone said. Sam couldn't help but let out a laugh as he ran into the train with Martin the later of them ran to the front. "Relax amigos, I'll get us out of here in a jiffy!" He said Sam watched as everyone took their seats. "You know what you're doing?" Tyrone called as he stood up. "Yeah don't worry, how hard can it be?" He called and Sam smiled as he looked around the train, everyone had relieved looks on their faces, and so did Sam. He looked at Tyrone who sat down and then looked at January who rubbed the bandage on her arm, but still had a smile on her face. Valerie seemed to be praying or maybe giving thanks. Jill was standing making her way to the front of the train right past the window, that Sam could see movement on the other side of. "Jill!" Sam cried out as something reached towards the window breaking through, Jill only had a moment to lift her arms in an attempt to shield herself before a long thin limb grabbed her and pulled her out of the broken window. "What the hell!?" Tyrone cried out as he fell back stunned by what just happened, Becca was knocked to the floor as broken glass showered her. "Guys!? What's going on back there!?" Martin called from the front. "We gotta help her!" Valerie said as she and January rushed out of the train. "Hurry get goin!" Becca called from the floor as Tyrone helped her up before running out of the train after the girls. "No wait guys! I-I can't get it to stop!" Martin cried out and Sam turned towards him. "What do you mean!?" Sam asked as he ran towards Martin noticing the buttons flashing. Sam turned back and watched as the doors to the train closed blocking Becca and Kelly from leaving the train. "Hey what's going on here!?" Becca shouted as she looked towards Martin and Sam. "I can't get it to turn off!" Martin began flipping several switches and pressing any button he could find. "Isn't there like a brake lever or something!?" Kelly cried, but whatever was happening Martin couldn't undo.

Sam looked out the window as a massive flea even bigger than the train itself slowly crawled past the train and onto the tracks in its arms was Jill struggling to get free. Sam watched as the others who left the train chased after the massive flea. "Not good! Not good!" Martin said as he watched them, Becca slammed her shoulder into the sliding doors of the train. "Open you sonuvabitch!" she turned towards the front of the train. "Martin get these doors open!" She yelled. "I can't!" Martin screamed, the train let out a hissing sound before it slowly started to move forward. "Holy shit! Out of the way!" Sam waved his arms trying to get his friends to move out of the train's path. Tyrone looked at them wide eyed as he ran and January had to jump back onto the platform. Sam ran back towards the door and tried to pry it open. "No! No! God fucking damn it!" He grunted but no matter how much force he used the doors remained shut. Becca was already there and tried to help him pulling on the other door. "What's going on!?" She asked but Sam ignored her, still trying to get the doors open.

Martin ran back and stood there, tears welled up in his eyes. "G-guys.." He said and Sam stopped and looked out the window. There standing on the platform were his friends, stunned looks on all their faces. Sam felt like his heart might tear out of his chest watching as the others grew further and further away. "Oh my God..." Becca dropped to her knees. "We left them." She covered her mouth with her hand, then she turned her gaze to Martin. "You left them..." She said her voice quiet but cold. "What?" Sam looked at her in confusion. "He left them." She said louder and Sam looked to Martin who looked like he'd just been shot. Becca stood up and walked over to Martin who flinched at the quick motion. "I-I-I c-couldn't-" he stammered but Becca put both her hand on his chest and pushed hard and Martin fell back onto the floor. "You left them!" She shouted at the now terrified Martin. "Hey!" Sam rushed to stand in between them. "He couldn't do anything!" Sam yelled and Becca glared at him tears rolling down her cheek. Kelly slowly stepped forward and placed a hand on Becca's shoulder. She quickly turned away and went to the back of the train. Sam turned to Martin, he was crying too. "I d-didn't mean t-too." He mumbled, Sam reached down and picked him up. "No, no you didn't man, just." He looked over to Becca. "Give her time." He said and Martin went to the front of the train, Trying his best not to blame Martin, he knew it was an accident but if Martin had waited or knew what he was doing. "I um I'll be over here." Sam said after walking away from Martin avoiding the look the mechanic gave him.

Sam stood there looking back and forth from Martin to Becca, both were looking at the floor Becca had her arms crossed, Martin was sitting on the floor arms and legs tucked into himself, quiet crying and the occasional sniff could be heard from both of them. Kelly looked at Sam, a sad look on her face. Sam let out a long sigh as he looked up to the broken window where Jill had been taken, then he noticed something move past along the wall. "What the hell?" He said as he felt his knees grow weak. "Hey guys. Come here." He said and he looked at both sides only Kelly seemed to be moving towards him. "Guys please come here!" He said and thankfully that seemed to be enough as both Becca and Martin slowly made their way to Sam. "Look." He pointed out the broken window. The three of them slowly looked at each other and then out the window. "What the hell?" Martin said as they all stepped closer to the window. The walls were different from when they left the subway, as the train moved through the tunnels the wall went from the dull dark grey, and course concrete to a more clean, well kept and smooth material, though the most unsettling thing was the Umbrella logo that they passed every now and then. Sam felt a shiver run down his spine. "Where the hell are we going?" He asked his voice quivering just a little.


	5. Below freezing point.

Fear ran through Sam as he stood at the front of the train watching the dark tunnel slowly become illuminated by the lights at the front until a large wall with Umbrella's logo came into view. "This is bad." He said to anyone who was near. "This is really bad!" He whispered as he felt his heart rate pick up. "Um guys I think the train is slowing down." Martin said as he looked out the window, the walls of the tunnel were passing more slowly until the train came to a stop several feet from the wall. "We stopped?" Becca asked as she held up her gun Sam could see the same sense of unease on her and Martin's face, He wanted to say something to help put everyone at ease, but he was just terrified. He didn't want to be here, half his friends were lost and they were walking back into Umbrella's arms. "Martin." They all turned to Becca who spoke quietly. "Where the hell did you bring us?" She asked her voice seethed with anger and Martin looked at her. "Becca I didn't mean to-" The doors suddenly opened and they all froze. "What now?" Kelly asked and the others exchanged looks. "I don't know, I say we just put this thing in reverse and get the fuck out of here!" Sam said and Becca nodded. "Agreed." She said as she walked past Martin slamming into his shoulder as she made her way to the train controls.

Sam walked with her to the controls and they both looked them over. "How do we get this thing going?" She asked pressing some of the buttons and pulling a lever. They stood there but nothing changed. "Please don't tell me we're stuck here." Becca said irritated, Sam let out a sigh. "Come on, we need to think of what to do next." He said defeated. Becca followed him back. Suddenly a loud alarm went off as a light began flashing. "What the fuck is that!?" Sam cried out as he lowered himself, Becca covered her ears as she ducked down too. "Look!" Martin's voice called out as he pointed over Sam's shoulder to the massive concrete wall slowly start to lift revealing another train facing them. "Oh that's not ominous at all." Kelly said as she looked past them. "Do you think we can use that to get out of here?" Becca asked. "We could go and find out." Martin said and Becca turned towards him. "Don't be stupid, it could be dangerous." She said just a bit more harsh than Sam thought was needed. "S-sorry you're right." Martin said as he backed away. Sam turned towards and Becca who turned away. "What should we do?" He asked and Becca bit her thumbnail as she looked around. "Let's move to that other train, at least it's facing the right direction." She said and turned to the doors, walking past Martin who backed out of her path. She walked to the open doors and hopped down onto the tracks. Sam looked at Martin who stared at the floor, Kelly placed a hand on his shoulder before she hopped down after Becca. Sam watched as Martin wiped his eyes before he followed, Sam felt his heart hurt as he watched Martin hop off of the train, he wanted to say something to cheer him up, but he wasn't sure if he didn't blame him too.

Sam followed and the group of four walked along the tracks leading further into the tunnel the light from the train cast their shadows in front of them stretching far. Their feet crunched on the gravel as they followed the tracks although the train before them wasn't a subway train, it was something bulkier that, Sam couldn't even begin to guess what kind of train it was. "Um quick question." Everyone turned towards Martin who shrank under the sudden attention. "Who is that?" He pointed to the train and there stood a figure who briefly ducked down behind the train controls. Becca raised her gun. "Get out of the train!" The figure in the train raised their hands in surrender. "I don't know if they can hear you." Martin said and Becca glared at him before she moved to the side of the train climbing up onto the platform Sam followed her as did Kelly, Martin hung back a little. "Please don't hurt me!" A woman's voice cried out as they arrived at the side of the train. The woman held up both hands as Becca looked at Sam before turning to the woman lowering her gun. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you none." Becca said as she waved for the others to step closer. "Listen we need a ride please." She spoke and the woman in the train lowered her hands. "You... Need a ride?" She asked stepping fully into view. She had brown hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, a yellow shirt and black skirt, pantyhose and black shoes. "You don't work for Umbrella?" She asked and Sam watched as the group, minus Kelly all shifted uncomfortably. "No way, those assholes tortured us for two months!" Sam growled as he crossed his arms. The woman's eyes widened a little. "You were tortured?" She asked slightly stunned. Kelly raised her hand. "Well they were, I just worked at a zoo, so um I guess that's kinda torture." She said as she pointed to the others. "Oh my God. Tortured?" She asked again her voice picking up as she held her hand over her heart. "Those monsters tortured you too?" She asked and Becca looked back at Sam. "You too?" She asked a she turned towards the woman who turned away. "It was awful, they made me do these horrible tests." She said and Sam thought he saw her hand drop something. "Oh my God you poor thing." Becca said as she took a step closer. The woman turned back to the group. "B-but I got free and uh I took this!" She said as she held up a large shiny briefcase. "What's that?" Martin asked as he stepped on his tip toes peeking over Sam's shoulder. "It's... Umbrella's secrets, with this I can bring them down!" She said as she glanced around, Sam looked at Becca who turned back to him. "Jan would love you." She said. "I'm Becca, That's Samuel and Kelly." Becca said smiling, Martin took a step forward. "Hi uh I'm Martin, um Martin Sandwich." He said and the woman raised an eyebrow. "Um nice to meet you all, My name's Monica." She introduced herself and went to shake each of their hands. "So um anyway we can fire this puppy up and scoot this train on along?" Martin asked and Monica's smile fell. "Um sorry, no sorry the train's running out of... electric pressure." She said pointing at the train. "What about your ride can we use it?" She asked and Becca shook her head. "Sorry no, we can't seem to get the train to move." She said and Martin looked down again. "It won't move?" She asked then went silent for a minute. "That's... Fine, I think I know... Another way out of here." She said as she walked onto the platform towards a large sliding door. "You do?" Kelly asked. Monica nodded. "Yeah but um it's dangerous." She said and Sam groaned. "Of course it is, but we've dealt with dangerous before." He said and he walked forward and pressed the button and the doors slid open revealing a long metal hallway. "Come on let's get moving, I hate this place already." He groaned.

They moved into the hallway which led to an elevator that only went down, Sam's breath quickened as the air grew chill and the group waited in the elevator that reminded them all of the horrible time they spent trapped in the terrifying labs of Umbrella. When the doors opened they led to a door at the end of another hallway, Becca taking the lead with her gun drawn. "So uh Monica." Martin started as he hovered next to her at the back of the group. "How'd you get out of Umbrella's greedy little grasps? We had a hacker hack an electric elevator." He said with a smile and Monica raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh it was kinda traumatic I don't really want to talk about it." She said practically ignoring him. "Oh right I get it." Martin said slowing his step a little. "Hey tell me something." Sam said as the group started to approach the door at the end of the hall. "What can we expect in here? Maybe mutant frogs the size of cars? Giant eyeballs with teeth? Oh maybe Giant fleas? We just ran into those." Sam said as they stopped by the door. "Giant fleas?" Monica asked a confused look on her face. "I'm thinking of calling them megabites." Martin said with a grin that quickly fell as everyone looked at him. "Right not important. Uh so any zombies in there?" He asked and Monica looked at him. "Zombies? Um I'm not sure how do you mean?" She asked and Sam opened the door revealing a lab filled with massive test tubes and tanks filled with strange green liquid, and large computer monitors. A man in a yellow shirt slowly turned towards them, his eyes a void of any color and his face turned into an angry snarl as he slowly walked towards them his arms outstretched. "That's what he means." Becca said as she walked forward holstering her gun. Kelly took a step back. "Why aren't you shooting him!?" She asked and Sam sprinted towards the zombie. "It's just one watch this." Martin said as Sam slammed his whole body into the zombie knocking it hard to the ground, before Becca walked forward and slammed her boot down hard onto the undead man's head, before raising her boot and bringing it down again cracking the zombie's head, a pool of blood slowly formed beneath it. "Whoa nice only two stomps this time!" Martin said as he gave her two thumbs up, Becca looked at him then looked away. "Come on, the sooner we leave this place, the better." She said and Martin deflated a bit. Sam looked at him then to Becca as she walked towards the computer. "Yeesh, someone's mad." Kelly said as she placed a hand on Martin's shoulder. "Yeah that happens when someone gets back stabbed." He said as he walked to the test tubes on the other end of the room. Sam looked back and forth then went to Becca, shuffling his feet as Becca pressed a few keys on the keyboard. "Hey Beccy?" He whispered as he got closer, she turned her head a little towards him. "What's up." She said her tone flat, and Sam sighed. "Give him a break. He didn't mean to do anything wrong." He whispered and Becca held her hand to her forehead a moment of silence passed before she finally let out a breath. "If he was careful. Or-" She started as she crossed her arms. "You're kinda being a dick to him. We need to watch out for each other!" Sam tried not to raise his voice as he glanced back at Martin who was digging through his bag with Kelly made her way towards him. "You and I both know he didn't plan on that happening." Sam said and Becca sighed then walked away. Sam stood there a moment before turning back following the group as they moved towards a door at the other end of the lab.

Becca walked up to Monica. "Hey, you have any idea where to go from here?" She asked annoyed and Monica frowned. "Um maybe uh if we get to the south passage we can use the duct to the upper levels and..." She went quiet before raising an eyebrow as she tilted her head. "Get to the train." She finished and everyone looked at her. "There's another train?" Kelly asked and everyone turned towards her then to Monica, who looked at each of them. "There. Is a tram on the surface level of the lab." She said and Sam's face lifted. "We can get out of here!... Again!" He said as he walked towards the group. "Just don't let Martin drive this one." Becca muttered and Martin looked at her for a moment before moving towards the door. "Right let's find this train." He said quietly opening the door, and walking through it. "Martin wait!" Sam said as he chased after him, following Martin at a brisk pace their shoes echoing against the metal beneath them. "Hey Marty wait up!" Sam called as Martin rushed down the hall that split into two directions taking a right turn and picked up his pace. "Don't worry Sam, I'll be fine!" Martin called as he left Sam's vision. "Hey wait man we gotta stick together!" Sam cried out as he ran to catch up, turning the corner he saw Martin open a normal door and go through. "Martin!" Sam rushed to the door and tried to open but it wouldn't budge. "Martin? Martin!?" Sam yelled and shook the door. "Hey! What's going on!?" He yelled even louder, now the rest of the group started to come around the corner. "Something wrong?" Becca asked worry on her face. Sam turned to her about to tell her about the door when it opened. "Uh fine, everything's fine... Just um... You should see this." Martin said as he pointed behind him. Sam looked at Martin who seemed to avoid his gaze. Kelly walked into the much dirty room that smelled horrible. "Okay what are we... Looking..." She stopped as she turned to stare at what had caught everyone's attention. There stood a massive plant stalk, that had vines clinging to the walls and wrapping around a service ladder that led to the floors above them.

Sam craned his neck trying to see the top of the plant. "It's really tall." He said as everyone stood there staring at it. "What do we do about this?" Monica asked. "Who says we need to do anything?" Becca asked and Monica pointed to the ladder. "We can't get up with those vines blocking the ladder." She said slightly irritated. Sam felt his neck popped as he quickly turned to look at her. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He asked and Monica rubbed her forehead. "I didn't think it would get this out of control so fast." She mumbled, Sam couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that comment. "What got so out of control?" Sam asked and Monica looked at him. "What?" She asked before shaking her head. "I think I know a way to clear the ladder." She said turning towards the door, moving past Sam who raised an eyebrow and looked to the others as he pointed to her. "Isn't there another elevator, or something?" Martin asked. "No it broke." Monica said leaving the room and Sam looked at the others. "Are you freaking kidding me!?" Martin yelled somewhat startling everyone a little, before he walked after Monica. Sam looked at the others. "Did that weird you guys out?" He asked and Becca looked at him with a strange perplexed looked before she ran after the other two. "Does he usually yell like that?" Kelly asked and Sam shook his head. "No usually he just yells 'eureka', or 'curses', nothing so angry sounding." Sam said and Kelly looked at him. "Think it has something to do with how you guys been treating him?" She asked and Sam raised an eyebrow. "Hey I can't help it if Becca is pissed at him!" He said and Kelly raised both her eyebrows. "I said guys, as in plural." She said and Sam looked at the door then back to her. "What? I didn't do anything!" He said and Kelly looked at him like he was trying to eat barbed wire. "Exactly! You're not defending him!" She said and Sam scoffed. "I've seen him kill zombies for two months he can defend himself!" He threw his hands up and Kelly looked away just so she could turn around and give him the exact same look as before. "Defend him from his pissed off friend! Not scary monsters! Something tells me the poor kid doesn't have a lot of experience in that department!" She said before she walked out after the others. Sam stood there for a moment, a sense of realization washed over him. "Oh." He sprinted after the others.

Catching up to the others Sam saw that the group took the other direction. "The chemical storage lab should be this way." Monica said and Sam nodded as he moved closer to Martin. "Hey um, Marty how uh how ya doin?" Sam asked and Martin seemed to be focused on Monica who lead the group down the hallway. "Good, yeah, hey does Monica seem um shifty?" Martin whispered as he eyed her and the case she was carrying. "What do you think is in that thing?" He asked and Sam glanced at Monica before turning his attention back to Martin. "What? No uh I don't- I wanted to talk to you about... Are you okay? You look kinda." Sam gave Martin a sniff. "Did you drink the scotch?" He asked and Martin waved his hand a little. "Yeah maybe a sip, but I mean how does she know about the chemical storage thingy? And did you hear the weird thing she said about the plant? 'Out of control so fast'? What does that even mean?" He said and Sam looked at Monica then back to Martin. "You heard that too?" He said and he leaned in. "What do you mean, you think she's up to something?" He asked and Martin slowly shook his head. "I don't know, but something smells like Tyrone's socks after... uh something smelly!" He whispered louder than before and Sam raised an eyebrow. "You sure you just had a sip?" Martin glanced at him. "Yeah just to ease my nerves a little." He said before he walked forward as the group opened the door to the chem storage room. Monica glanced around the room before walking over to a computer. "Okay uh can someone look for a bottle labeled VP-017? It should be in a grey bottle, somewhere over there." She gave a vague wave to the back of the room and Sam looked at Becca who let out a breath as she walked past Martin who tried to returned her gaze but once she walked past he seemed crestfallen, maybe with more of a glare than what she gave him. "Grey bottle you say?" She asked and started shuffling through the bottles. "Yes please look for it. And you." She pointed to Martin, who looked back at her. "Whazzat?" He asked and she pointed to the screen. "Find a large red jug, but be careful, it has a chemical called UMB. NO3, it should be in the chemical disposal room, look at this map." She said and Martin walked over to her and looked at the map. "Okay red jug got it." He said as he walked back to the door. Sam looked at Monica then to Martin. "Uh I'll go with him, travel in pairs and all that." He said as he took a quick glance at the map before chasing after Martin.

Sam followed Martin in the direction back to the lab, "Hey Martin, just you and me, the amazing duo again right?" Sam asked with a smile and Martin looked back at him then smiled. "Sure." Was all he said as he continued to walk towards the room they were shown on the map. Sam couldn't help but feel a little worried at this response. "Uh yeah." An awkward silence fell over them and Sam looked Martin over who seemed to be focused on whatever was ahead. "So um about what Becca said-" Martin moved forward a little faster. "We should hurry." Martin said as he turned the corner to a door and pressed the button, opening the door he hurried in and Sam stood there stunned a little before quickly following.

"Okay don't tell Umbrella but these sliding science doors are pretty cool." He said as he looked up into the space where the door disappeared. "Yeah, they're pretty cool I guess." Martin muttered as he looked around the room. "So chemical disposal, huh? Why would they disposal of whatever it is we needed?" He asked and Sam wondered what Martin meant. The room had several barrels and a large window looking into a small room lit up by a red light, a door right next to it with a man standing there in the smaller room looking at the wall. "Hey maybe he knows what we're looking for!" Sam said as he walked to the window. "Excuse me? Sir?" He asked tapping on the window catching the man's attention who now that he was looking at them through the window, Sam could see it was a zombie that was now slobbering all over the window smacking his hands against it. Martin raised an eyebrow as he walked closer. "I don't think he heard you." He said as he tapped the glass. "Excuse me? Mister Asshole? Have you seen a red milk jug?" Sam asked and Martin gave a laugh. "Hey fella! We could use some help?" He said smacking the glass a little. The zombie on the other side moved it's head to attempt to bite Martin's hand through the glass. "Hey Marty look at this." Sam said as he held his hand to the glass and the zombie moved to try and bite Sam, as Sam moved his hand along the glass and the zombie followed. He moved his hand back and forth, the two watched laughing at the zombie that followed Sam's hand, in a stupid dance as it tried to eat them through the glass. "Hey Sam? Sorry I was acting weird." Martin said and Sam looked at him. "No it's no problem, we're all pretty stressed I mean Becca is a little upset but I mean I think she just needs time, ya know-" "What the hell are you two doing?" Monica's voice startled both of them and they both turned and saw the others standing there. "You were just supposed to grab the damn jug and come back." She walked into the room and stopped and looked at the zombie. "Walter..." She said as she watched the zombie slowly swayed it's head back and forth. "You knew this guy?" Sam asked and Martin eyed her over his shoulder. "Is he one of the guys who tortured you?" He asked and Becca walked forward. "Where's the stupid chem?" She asked irritated and Martin took a step back flinching a little. Becca eyed him then backed off a little. "Look I just wanna get out of this place, it gives me the heebie jeebies. Okay so where's this jug of crap we need?" She said and Monica pointed behind the zombie. "Right there." She said and Sam walked over and pressed his face against the glass and cupped his hands around his eyes. "The red light kinda makes it hard to see, no wait I see it." He said before the zombie blocked his view. "Outta the way asshole!" Sam yelled and Becca looked at him before sighing. Kelly looked at the zombie. "So how do we get him out of there?" She asked and Sam walked to the door. "Simple we open the door and kill it." He said as he turned to Becca. "So what do you think? The tackle box? Or the stomp and tromp? Maybe the Pterodactyl?" He asked as he stretched his arms. Becca tilted her head. "What the hell are you talking about? We don't got names for anything." She said and Sam looked confused. "Who was I coming up with names with?" He asked himself as Becca moved him to the side before drawing her gun and opening the door, firing a single shot into the zombie. "I'm not in the mood to deal with this." She said and they all watched the zombie fall to the floor, Martin raised an eyebrow as he looked at the zombie. "Huh... What a weird fashion choice." 

They stood there as Monica carefully mixed the chemicals into the red jug before shaking it, then she poured it into the smaller bottle. "You sure know a lot about-." Everyone turned to Martin who was leaning on Sam's shoulder. "Um, this?" He asked and he gestured to the bottle and jug. "Science chem stuff." He said and Monica looked around at everyone who glanced at her before looking back at Martin. "Umbrella... Forced me to mix chemicals, so they wouldn't inhale any dangerous fumes." "Ooooh that makes sense." Martin said but his face told Sam that he didn't buy it but now everyone else didn't seem to notice their gaze fixed Monica as she finished mixing the bottles. Sam raised an eyebrow as Monica stood up sealing the bottle and grabbed the case before she rushed out of the room. "Okay that was shady as fuck." Kelly said and Martin stood up straight. "Yeah I thought so too." He said to himself and turned to followed Monica. Now Sam was worried and by the looks on everyone's faces so were they.

They followed her back to the room with the giant plant and they gathered around as Monica walked up to the plant with Martin keeping a close eye on her. "So how does this work? We put the bottle in a cannon and fire it at the plant?" He asked sarcastically. Monica opened the bottle and poured it onto the roots of the plant. "That was boring." Martin said. It didn't take long for the vines to start to twitch then the large stalk seemed to make a noise. Sam took a step back. "Okay..?" He muttered, just before the stalk burst and a gross smelling liquid shot out. "Holy shit!" Kelly cried as she threw her arms up to keep herself from being showered with whatever came from the tree. Becca side stepped or more of a jump out of the way, Martin shielded himself even though he was far enough away from the stalk for it to not be an issue. After a few seconds of the tree spraying whatever all over the place. "What the fuck dude?" Martin asked as he slowly sat up, Monica turned towards him, covered in whatever just came out of the tree. "I didn't know that was going to happen!" She yelled as she wiped her face clean and Martin waved a hand. "Whatever let's get moving." He said as Monica went to the ladder and started to attempt to climb the ladder with one hand as the other awkwardly clung to the metal case in her hand. Becca who stepped closer tapped her leg. "You want my to hang onto-" "NO!" Monica practically screamed startling everyone. "I um mean no I can take care of it." She said as she attempted to climb the ladder. "Are you sure darlin? We can just tie it to the back pack or something." She said and after Monica stayed there for a moment before she lowered herself and gave the case to Becca. "Just please be careful with it." She said defeated.

Sam decided he'd be the last to climb the ladder with Martin's backpack and Monica's case tied to it. He watched as everyone climbed, the tension from earlier still palpable in the air but Sam did notice that Martin looked down at one point then clung to the ladder and started to climb slower. "You good Martin?" Sam asked and for a brief moment Becca looked down at him. "I'll let ya know when I'm not!" He replied before continuing the climb. The rest of the climb was silent and Sam looked down, it was easily several dozen of feet above the floor below. He gave a shiver. "You know I'm kinda tired of finding ourselves in places where we can fall to our deaths." Sam said as he reached the second floor, which was more of a small metal balcony with a rusty guard rail that made Sam a little nervous. Letters on the wall read Floor-B6. "Where the fuck are we?" Kelly asked and the group seemed just as confused as she was. There was another ladder leading further up but it wasn't extended all the way ending half way up and didn't reach the next floor. There was a door next to it and Sam let out a groan. "We have to find some way to lower the fucking ladder don't we?" Everyone joined his groan. "How'd we even get this far underground?" Becca asked with a sigh before she walked to the door.

Another hallway that looked like all the others, it led to a lab like the one they found before that had a door at the end of it, just like before. "I hate this place." Sam said as he looked around the lab, picking up and looked over several bottles of several colors. Kelly pressed a few buttons on the computers, Martin sat in a rolling chair and wheeled himself around the lab, and Becca walked around with Monica as she seemed to look over the terminal. "Damn it. Looks like we have unlock the terminal to get the ladder free." She said and brought a hand to wipe her forehead. "Okay um... Maybe there's someone's I.D. card we can use in the break room." She said and Martin started spinning around in the chair. "And where is that?" He asked and Monica looked towards the door opposite of the one they walked in. "It should be down that hallway. She said as she left the room and everyone stayed there a moment. "She knows way to much." Becca said crossing her arms. "Yup." Sam agreed as he walked over to Martin's chair and set his hands on the back pushed Martin's chair a little. "It's kinda suspicious if you asked me." Martin said. "Well nobody's askin." She said quickly and Martin shrank a little. "Hey Becca lay off." Sam said and Becca looked at him with a furrowed brow. "What happened wasn't his fault! The sooner we get over it, the sooner we can figure out how get the others back." He said and everyone looked at him. "We're in this together right? Go team, right?" He said and Becca put her hands on her hips and looked at her boot as she rubbed her heel into the floor. "Let's just go." She said walking towards the door Monica had left through.

The break room had three zombies, two men who wore lab coats and a woman who had a green jacket and jeans. "Okay do your thing." Monica said as she lagged to the back of the group, Becca looked at her and sighed as she held up her hand gun and fired dropping the the one closest to them which was one of the lab coat zombies. "One down." Becca said as Sam stepped forward, he said popping his neck, then he darted forward quickly as he drove his fist square in the other lab coat zombie's face, it fell back with a thud. "Oh let me!" Martin ran forward and jumped landing both feet onto the zombie's head an there was a crack and it stopped moving. "Two down." Martin said as he fell backwards and Sam caught him, and they both backed up a little. The last zombie was the woman, she had neck length brown hair and Sam looked at her feeling a little sad. "What do you think her name was?" He asked as she slowly shuffled closer "Yoko." Monica said and they all turned towards her. "At least that's what I heard the uh others call her." She mumbled as she recoiled from their looks. Martin looked back at Monica crossing his arms before looking back at the zombie woman who slowly moved closer. "It's just... Dunno... Even if she worked for Umbrella, it's kind of sad. To end up like this." Sam said as Monica moved forward, she seemed to be fascinated by this zombie. "You said these zombies were dangerous." She looked the woman up and down keeping her distance. "One ain't so bad." Becca said as she aimed her gun at the woman's head. "You gotta worry when they gang up on ya." She said and Monica slowly backed away. "Try not to make a mess." She said and Becca looked at her over shoulder, and then fired.

As soon as the zombie fell to the floor, Monica rushed over to her and started rummaging through her pockets. "I knew it!" She said as she pulled a card from her back pocket. "What's that?" Martin asked as he stepped forward. Monica quickly pocketed the card. "It's an I.D. card, we need it to lower the ladder and open the doors." She said and Martin turned towards the others who seemed to be looking at the strange woman. "Hey Monica, there's something I wanna ask you." He said and Monica glanced at him before standing up and starting to walk towards the door. "Ask me later." She said but Martin stood in her way. "Nope." He said and a strange vibe instantly entered the room. "It's just that, You know a lot about this place, and the people here. It's just kinda weird. Suspicious really." He said and Monica simply stood there watching him. "I told you-" Martin held up a hand. "But there was something that really help make things make sense." He said and everyone looked at him but he didn't flinch. Becca reached out and grabbed his wrist. "Martin, stop babbling." Martin yanked his arm away from her. "Back off!" He hissed and Becca flinched. "You work for Umbrella don't you?" He said turning towards Monica and everyone froze. "Those yellow shirts the zombies from earlier were wearing, they look a lot like yours." He said and Monica flinched. "Is that your uniform or something?" He asked and Becca grabbed Martin by the shoulder pulling him to look at her. "Martin! What the hell are you talkin about? You're sounding like a damn fool!" She said and Martin turned towards her. "Come on Becca, You have to know it's weird right?" He asked and Becca let out a huff. "We don't have time for this right now so just drop it okay?" She said anger filling her voice. Martin seemed to step back a little then turned towards Sam as if asking for help. "Uh yeah pretty weird." Sam said and Martin let out a sigh. "At least someone is on my side." Martin said his voice seemed to have just the tiniest bit of anger directed to Becca. Martin turned back towards the woman in question. "So Monica, Tell us-" He was cut off by Monica slamming the metal case into his face, he fell to the floor and she jumped over him rushing out the door, everyone was stunned and Becca stared wide eyed at where Martin seemed to pick himself off the floor then turned and sprinted after Monica. "Monica! You son of a bitch get back here!" Becca shouted as she raced after the woman who attacked Martin Sam rushed to the mechanic who waved his hand. "Go get her!" He said a hand on his cheek, and after a mental debate he went rushing out the door to follow, entering the lab he saw Monica insert the I.D. card into a slot and press a button before she sprinted out the door back to the ladder. Sam ran at full speed after her running past Becca who stopped to aim her gun she had a furious look on her face. "Don't move!" But Monica ignored her. Arriving to the door that slowly lowered Sam dove under it and slid on the floor, for a brief moment he thought he looked pretty cool but he knew he had to catch up to Monica at the moment, Becca getting stopped by the door, he could hear what he assumed was Becca punching the door button. "Stupid, crappy, metal sack of shit!" He heard her muffled voice from the other side of the door. Getting back to his feet he rushed to the door leading to the duct area where the ladders were. "Monica! what the fuck-" He was cut off by something slamming hard into his leg making him fall forward to the floor at full momentum, rolling several feet forward he stopped just before the edge of the platform. "Monica!?" He shouted as he looked over at her just in time to see her kick him in the sternum and he felt the air leave him as he felt another kick at his legs and they went over the edge. "Monica you bitch!" Sam wheezed out as he felt himself start to fall off the platform and he clung desperately to the guard railing. Monica went to the ladder and attempted to climb it while holding onto the case. "Sorry Sam, but I can't let you guys get in my way!" She said as she continued to climb the ladder. Sam was currently trying to catch his breath as he pulled himself up, realizing he needed to breath fairly urgently so he just stayed there for a moment trying to catch his breath, his legs dangling over the massive drop the metal making an unsettling creaking noise and he was afraid the guard railing would give way. "We tried to help you! You lying bitch!" He said still attempting to get his breath back. "And I appreciate that, but I need to get out of here. And I don't need a bunch of nosy idiots wasting my time." She said as she actually started to get some distance away apparently finding a method that suited her. "Oh my God! You suck!" Sam grunted as he attempted get a better grip to pull himself up the guard rail bending towards him, the door opened and Becca stood there with her gun drawn when she saw Sam hanging there and her face went from pissed to terrified she rushed to his side. "Sam!? Are you okay!?" She reached out and grabbed his hand just as the railing broke and both fell towards the long drop below, Sam let out a yelp before they both stopped falling. Becca was letting out a horribly unsettling growl as she held desperately onto Sam's arm with one hand and the balcony with the other, her torso and lower body laying on the platform. Fingers gripped into the metal grate that made up the floor underneath them. Sam watched the pained expression on Becca's face as she dug her nails into Sam's arm. "Becca... Just drop me, you don't need to fall too!" Sam said as he looked down below. She let out a grunt. "ShutthefuckupSamthisisreallyhard!" Becca said as she tried to pull him up only for him to slide a little and both of their eyes widened, Sam reached up and used his other hand to grab onto her for more leverage. Sam watched as her face twisted in pain as she tightened her fingers through the metal gaps. "Just. Hold. On." She slowly breathed. "Becca?" Martin's voice called out and Sam could see both Martin and Kelly rush to Becca's side and reach down to grab Sam. Martin's face filled with worry as he grabbed Sam's arm and everyone pulled him up. "Sam!? Easy, just-" Sam let out a growl. "Please don't say 'just hold on'!" He grunted and after a nervous chuckle from Becca. "How about don't look down?" She said as they all managed to hoist him up clumsily bringing Sam onto the metal balcony.

After a moment of everyone just sitting there catching their breath, Sam scooted closer to the wall. "Okay... That sucked." Sam let out a shaky breath. "Th-thanks guys." He said as he tried to calm his breathing. Becca stood up and walked over placing a hand on Sam's shoulder. "That was too close." She breath and Sam could see her hand was traces of the rusted metal she had a death grip on to keep them from both falling. "Thanks, Becca. I thought I was done for." Sam said as he closed his eyes. "Of course darlin." She said and Sam looked at Martin. "Are you okay Marty?" He asked and now seeing Martin's face he could see a huge red mark on Martin's left cheek and a small trail of blood along his lip. "I'm more pissed than hurt." He said as he held something up and Sam had to wince to see the tiny object pinched in his fingers, he realized it was a tooth. Sam jumped to his feet and rushed over to Martin. "Holy shit are you okay?" He asked and Martin nodded. "Yeah I guess." He looked towards the ladder. "I guess Monica got away." He said and Sam sighed as he looked up above them to the other balcony. "Yeah, sorry we were a little busy." Becca said and Martin flinched. "No I didn't mean anything!" He said and Becca sighed. "No relax, sorry sugar. You know I got your back." She said and Martin stared at her before he smiled, Sam's gaze shifted between the two and he smiled. "Aw look at you two being best buds again!" He said wrapping an arm around both Martin and Becca before pulling them together. "I hate to bring the mood down." They all looked at Kelly. "But if Monica really does work for the bad guys, and if she gets to the train before us then...?" She said and everyone grew wide eyed. "You think she'd leave us behind!?" Martin cried out. "She tried to get rid of me, I say she doesn't care about what happens to us." Sam said nervously and Becca placed a hand on the ladder. "I'm gonna take that as meanin to get the hell out of here." She said as she started climbing the ladder and the others followed her as they ascended towards the floor labeled Floor-B5. 

Sam reached to top of the ladder and looked around. "You think the train's on this floor?" He asked as they looked at yet another ladder leading up and a door next to it. "Well whatever floor Monica went to that's where we gotta go." Martin said as he walked to the door and opened it and stared inside. "Marty?" Sam asked as Martin slowly closed the door again. "I don't wanna go in there." He said and Sam looked at Becca who had worried look on her face. "What did you see darlin?" Becca asked and Sam was glad that she didn't seem mad at him anymore. Martin looked at each of them. "Um I saw a bug." He held his hands about a foot apart. "About this big. And there was a lot of them." He said and Kelly turned away and started climbing up the ladder. "Nuh uh no thank you, not today." She said as she ascended the ladder at a quick pace and Sam decided to follow.

Arriving to Floor-B4 the group noticed that there wasn't any more ladders leading any higher, but there was a vent leaking air so cold that they could see it drift to the floor before spreading out and evaporating. "Oh man, I hate the cold." Martin said as the group watched the vent for a moment. "This is gonna suck." Kelly said as she buried her face in her hands. "My clothes still aren't dry from the subway." Sam muttered and he dreaded the experience to come. "God I just want a hot shower." Becca said and the group reluctantly went to the door and went inside. The air instantly grew much colder and Sam was glad he wasn't wearing a short sleeve like Becca and Martin. However his pants and shoes were still wet and now were very cold. "Why do we have the worst luck!?" Becca said as she rubbed her arms as she walked forward. "What the fuck is that!?" Kelly pointed ahead and Sam tilted his head, in front of the group was a white statue, it was a strange shape barely shorter than Becca and it was oddly shaped, it appeared humanoid but it's arms were longer than a human's and they ended in sharp claws. "I don't now but I don't like." Martin said as he opened the bottle of scotch and drank a swig. Everyone stared at him. "That'll warm me up." He said and Sam wasn't sure about that. "You guys want some?" he asked and Sam was the only one who took a swig. "Don't drink too much, we need to be sober enough to put up a fight." Becca said rubbing her arms as she looked over to the statue and saw that it was ice. "Something is frozen in this." He said and everyone grew nervous. "We need to find that train." Kelly said as she tucked her arms into her sleeves and the group moved on noticing the door. "Everyone stay close, if nothing else for warmth." Becca said and the group opened the door. On the other side was a vast open room a single walkway illuminated by a red light led to a small enclosed area in the center of the room that split off into two other directions one lit by a white light and the other lit by a blue. "B-blue or white f-first?" Sam asked stuttering from the cold as he felt the chill seep into his bones. "Blue?" Martin said as he huddled closer to Sam who unzipped his jack for the smaller man to slip in underneath it, at first only Martin wrapped his arms around Sam under his jacket but soon Becca and Kelly joined and everyone was practically under his jacket in some goofy mother duck style and they slowly made their way to the blue lit path. "L-look, another one of those th-things." Sam said pointing at the strange frozen creature in the center of the room. Sam felt the warmth of the others start to warm up his torso. "Stay close girls and Martin, cuz you guys are very warm." Sam said as the group awkwardly walked ahead. They walked towards the door at the end of the blue walkway and with a shaking hand Sam pressed the button and the door opened.

They walked through the door and took a few steps still huddled under Sam's jacket with Becca under his right arm, Kelly under his left and Martin hugging him from behind head burried in Sam's back. "Let me know what you see, I can't see anything except Sam's ass." Martin said and Sam smiled. "Then look somewhere else." Kelly said as she peeked out from under the jacket. "...Why?" Martin asked after a pause, then he and Sam gave a laugh. Still walking forward, Sam could see a door that led somewhere on his left and something on his right that made his heart beat pick up, but in a good way for once. "Guys look." He said and everyone peeked out of his jacket. Becca stepped out of Sam's jacket. "The train!" She called and her voice echoed out around them. In front of them was a dull yellow train sitting on a massive lift that led upwards to a visible night sky. "Well come on, let's get this thing going!" Martin said as he rushed to the train along with the others. "Okay what uh how do we do this?" Kelly asked as she walked around the train. "Look a thing!" Martin said and everyone gathered towards him. He pointed towards a terminal on the side of the train, a small key was sticking out of it. "So do we..?" He turned the key however nothing happened. "Oh come on!" Martin said kicking the terminal and wobbling a little, Sam grabbed him by the arm to steady him. "Hey you okay buddy?" He asked and Martin looked up at him. "Just uh the scotch hitting me heh." He said in a low voice. Sam sighed and looked around. "Hey what's in there?" He asked pointing towards a metal door that wasn't electric and they moved over to it, opening it they found an empty room with several cabinets full of medication, a desk with a few books on it and a bed in the corner. "Oh my God there's a heater!" Becca said rushing over to the small machine next to the desk. Everyone followed her inside and Martin flopped himself onto the bed. Becca brought the heater closer as Sam walked over to the bed and sat next to Martin. "I guess now's a good time to take a break." Becca said and walked over to Martin's bag on the floor, and pulled out the scotch taking a small drink. "Hmm not bad." She said as she handed the bottle to Kelly to took a swig. "Oh yeah that's good." She said putting the cap back on it.

Drinking a few sips warmed up their insides while the tiny heater did it's best to keep their outsides warm and after a moment Sam got up to look around the room, a slight wobble as he stood and Sam heard a slight chuckle come from Kelly. "Easy there." She said and Sam waved her off. "Oh please I'm waiting for the train ride to get plastered." He said as he walked along the wall when something hanging on it caught his attention. "Look at this." Sam said holding up the picture. "Whatcha got there?" Becca asked and she looked at the photo. It was several Umbrella employees standing next to each other in a row, they looked familiar wearing the same yellow shirts. "Some of these guys were the zombies we passed on the way." Martin said as he looked at the photo closer. "Hey look at that!" Martin pointed and standing at the end of the group was Monica with a forced smile as she was standing next to a woman with glasses who might have been the woman with the green jacket from the break room. "Told ya." Martin said as Becca took the photo. "You were right Marty- er Martin." Becca said and everyone glanced at her. "Right." She said and there was an awkward silence, Martin looked at her and then to Sam. "Well." Sam said standing up and paused. "Come on Kelly, we need to find something to get that train moving." He said and Kelly looked at him then to Martin and Becca before standing with a sigh. "Yeah sure let's go." She said and they walked out the door, Sam looked back as the door closed and he could hear Becca begin an apology and Sam couldn't help but smile.

Walking around the train turn table looking for anything that could explain why the turn table wasn't moving. "Look at that." Kelly pointed at the railing that would bring the turn table to the surface. "See the ice blocking the railing." She said and Sam noticed what she meant. "So you think if we turn on the heat we'll be able to get this puppy moving?" Sam asked and Kelly shivered. "Worth a shot." she said and Sam saw her logic and went towards the large room with the lights. "Where are you going?" Kelly asked and Sam started to rub his arms. "I'm gonna find the heater and get this bitch moving!" He said and opened the door and Kelly rushed after him. "B-but shouldn't we get the others?" She asked and Sam shook his head his neck aching as the cold started to set in again each shiver lasting slightly longer than the last. "N-no I don't know if they're done talking, and b-besides how l-long is it gonna take for that to th-thaw? The sooner the better!" He said and started moving a little quicker. Kelly stood there a moment before following. "I guess you got a point." She said sticking close to him. They walked back across the light path, Sam looking over the edge but nothing was visible, just darkness and yet. "Did." Sam stopped causing Kelly to bump into him. "Did, you see something moving down there?" He asked fear starting to well up as he started walking faster. "We need to hurry." And they started walking to the center before moving down the white path. Getting closer to the door Sam pressed the button and the door slid open revealing another one of the strange statues. "These things creep me out." Sam said as he walking and could feel the air get even colder. "H-Holy shit!" He said and hugged himself. "Oh no I ain't going in there!" Kelly said as she felt the cold air and Sam slowly walked forward. "Come we g-gotta t-turn off the c-cold!" He said and Kelly reluctantly followed.

They walked through the hall and walking around the corner where they found two large metal doors and Sam had a good feeling as he reached forward and grabbed the frozen metal opening one of the doors slowly as it seemed to resist and Sam let out a grunt as the door opened enough for both to enter. "C-come on." Sam said as he moved further into the room, the floor completely covered in a frozen fog. "Hey I just touched something." Kelly said as they stopped and looked down at her feet. She slowly reached down and with shaking hands picked something up. "Oh man, we won the jackpot!" She said as she lifted up a shotgun out of the mist and Sam smiled. "Nice find!" He said as he began sifting through the mist. "Maybe there's another gun or some..thing..?" He felt something cold and lifted his hand and waved it clearing the mist away a little, what he saw was a man with massive gashes in his back his spine visible, he was frozen stiff. "Um maybe we should just keep moving." Sam said standing up and moving further into the room seeing a console he rushed over to it. "M-maybe th-there's a switch or s-something!" He stuttered as he looked over the console. There he saw it a lever with the beautiful words. 'Temperature control' He reached forward and pulled the lever to the opposite end of whatever setting it was on. Almost immediately a vent hummed to life as Sam watched the cold air be sucked out of the room making the floor visible. "Alright! We good, let's bounce!" He said turning heading back to Kelly who was bent over the dead body. "What are you doing." Sam asked as Kelly reached out and riffled through the dead man's pockets. "L-looking f-for ammo, You guys do that r-right?" She shivered and Sam nodded as Kelly pulled out a few shells for the shotgun. "Nice, I know it's not easy but we gotta do what we gotta do." He said and the two went back, the air was already getting warmer.

They walked past the statue and saw small water droplets start to roll off of it. "We better leave before these things start walking around." Sam said and he opened the door and for brief moment, he swore he saw something move under the walkway. "Did you see that?" Kelly asked and Sam nodded. "What was it?" Sam asked and Kelly gulped. "I don't know, and I don't want to know." She said and they both stood there for a moment before they both rushed out to the center of the big empty room at the crossroads of the walkways. Kelly had the shotgun ready as she moved forward, Sam wondered if she knew how to use it and almost asked if she'd prefer if he held the gun. A sound caught both of their attention, it was like a loud whoosh of air in a rhythmic pattern almost like. "Wing beats?" Kelly asked as she craned her neck to listen for where the noise was coming from. Sam gave a shiver and turned and looked where Kelly was looking not seeing anything, they both made their way to the train, listening for the source of their distress, then the wing beats grew distant, but just as Sam was about to mention it they picked up in volume and speed and Sam felt himself flinch and he ducked down as something flew past them a strange dust fell over the path in front of him and landed on Kelly who began coughing uncontrollably. "Kelly? What's wrong?" Sam said as he moved closer to her and she hunched over, the coughs sounding violent and painful as she reeled back and looked around desperately. "C-coming *Cough* Back!" She said and Sam looked around and spotted something massive, flapping it's strange white wings that had a dull red spot in the center of them. "A moth!?" Sam called out as he pushed Kelly to the floor and it flew past more dust falling over them. "Don't breath!" Kelly wheezed clutching her throat as she coughed again and Sam took her advice and held his breath as the dusk from the moth's wing landed all over them, Sam pushed Kelly forward who began coughing again. They moved closer to the door and Sam felt Kelly's knees buckle a little as she walked and he pushed her to the door, he lifted his shirt over his mouth and began pressing the button frantically and the door opened and Sam pushed the young woman forward and followed her, at least he tried to follow when suddenly he felt something pull on his jacket and for a moment he was weightless. "Sam!?" Sam heard the familiar voice of Becca and saw both her and Martin sprinting towards him. "Hel-" He didn't have any time to speak before he was suddenly thrown off the walkway, turning his head towards the vast space below, the overwhelming fear filled his body and then darkness.

Sam wondered what a life would be like if this craziness had never happened, if he had never gotten injured and asked for Umbrella's help or even if Umbrella never existed in the first place. He and Tyrone could be gym buddies, he'd run into Valerie probably at a nice cafe, he would go camping and run into Becca at a park, January would probably be someone who he met on a bus who wouldn't stop talking and they'd somehow become friends, and Martin. He'd fix Sam's new car and they'd get to talking, he'd ask Martin on a date, he'd say yes and they'd go to a crappy bar and have some amazing burgers. And then they'd have a second date somewhere nice.

Sam felt himself jolt awake as he felt a dull pain throb against his arm and side as if he'd been dropped on it. He looked around, it was a dark room, but the walls were covered in some kind of web, strange large green pods covered the walls and floor some had holes in them and were empty inside, "What the fuck?" Sam looked around fear filling him again as he checked his surroundings, some semblances of a lab could be seen underneath and around the webs but the most noticeable feature of the room was a massive cocoon fixed along the far wall with a hole in it. He heard something squishy sounding from above and he slowly looked up and saw the giant moth staring at him, it clung to the ceiling and Sam honestly thought he was about to vomit. "S-so what now? You gonna eat me?" He stuttered and felt himself ball up his fist and more squishy noises started to come from all around him and he looked around and several caterpillars, about maybe a foot long, started to crawl towards him. "Oh I get it, I'm just a happy meal for your gross little abortion babies!" He said getting to his feet and looking around as the worms inched their way closer. "Well bring it on ugly and family, I ain't dying here!" He said as he watched the moth turned and crawled out through a vent along the ceiling. "Oh running away!?" He turned towards the worms that were much closer now. "Well good..." He said looking for any exit. "Come on, just a bunch of bugs can't be too ba-AAAGH!" He felt a burning pain in his shoulder and the side of his neck as he looked up and saw a worm on the ceiling dripping some strange liquid onto his shoulder. "Of fucking course they spit acid!" Sam yelled stomping a worm and although it was harder than he thought, it still squished with a crunch and it's guts spilled out from under his shoe. He moved around and spotted a door along the wall. "Freedom!" Sam ran towards it hopping over piles of silk and eggs and practically slammed himself against the door and pressed the button but nothing happened. "Oh fuck me!" Sam said as he turned around and spotted some worms crawling along the wall towards him. It was a strange feeling of danger as the worms were slow, but there were dozens moving towards him, anytime one got close enough he would stomp any on the floor, and swing his hand harshly smacking the ones on the wall and they would fall to the floor and he would step on them. In no time his legs were covered in bug guts and his hands were sore from batting them off the wall, if they got to close they'd spit their acid at him which would fly out about two or three fee making him feel like he needed to dance to avoid their assault.

After what felt like hours Sam started to wonder if this situation was much worse than he thought as he felt a worm land on his arm and seemed to just drool on him, the burning pain would last about a minute before it was just more of a numb feeling. Sam smacked the bug off of him and turned towards the door. "Anyone! A little help!" He shouted and turned back another worm spitting onto his leg and he kicked the worm away and it splatted against the wall before he felt his leg buckle underneath him. "Oh no." He thought as his leg started to tingle like he had been sitting on it for too long and then tried to run on it. "Come on get up!" He smacked his leg and after a second he was able to stand again, but now his situation was much more dire as the worms were crawling up his legs and dropping from the ceiling onto him as quick as he moved he couldn't shake them all off before they would start to drool their burning spit on him, He started to panic as he lifted and shook his leg to try and shake some of them loose only for them to start crawling up his other leg, he set his foot down on top of one and it began to wriggle underneath knocking him off balance. He fell to the floor catching himself as he held a hand out crushing another worm, now they crawled onto his back and up his arm. "No no! Get off me! Someone!" He screamed as he felt a sharp pain that different from the acid start to sink into his hand, he lifted it up and saw one of the worms hanging onto his hand by it's mouth blood running down his arm. "Fucking bugs! Help!" He shouted again as he shook his arm the worm getting flung off but taking some skin with it. Sam felt one of the grotesque worms on his head and he hurriedly batted it off before pulling his hood as far over his head as he could.

The bugs would let out slimy noises as they crawled closer, the only other noise was from Sam's grunts of smashing a worm or a cry of pain from the acid or from some biting actual flesh. "Fuck get off me!" He still shouted trying to get back to his feet, one arm shielding his face as the other swatted at his legs, he thought he had heard a new noise but between all the little monsters crawling on him, he hadn't paid it much mind, when he felt something grab his leg and start to drag him, he felt a new sense of panic as he was pulled out of the room into a much more lit up hallway with less eggs and webs around. "Wha-?" He looked around as two sets of hand swatted and batted at the bugs still on him, Becca and Martin grabbed and threw the worms away as they looked Sam over, looks of fear and concern were fixed on their faces. "Sam! Are you okay!?" Martin asked as he pulled Sam up only for him to drop to his knees. "I don't know." Sam answered trying to sit up and Becca and Martin exchanged worried looks. "Come on, we gotta get out of here!" Becca brought one of his arms over her shoulder as Martin grabbed the other, together they lifted Sam up and led him away from the room that had the worms crawling out of it after them, as the door slid closed it crushed as few and Sam smiled at that.

As they moved Sam further away from the bugs, it took a few minutes but he eventually started to have feeling in his legs again and was able to start running himself. "Holy shit you guys, that was the worst thing I've ever had to deal with in this bullshit of a fucking nightmare factory!" He shouted and they kept moving passing by the occasional bug that if it was on the floor or within hitting distance Sam could smash his fist against it or slam his foot down on it. "Creepy crawly little fuck shits!" Sam said irritated as they reached a door and went through. There Sam recognized it as the floor just above where Monica tried to kill him, Floor-B5. "How'd you guys find me?" Sam asked and Becca turned towards him, and Sam noticed she had the shotgun Kelly had found slung around her shoulder on a strap. She grabbed and held his head in her hands turning it to and fro. "Kelly said a giant bug attacked you." She said as she placed a hand on a spot on his neck where Sam felt that he'd been bit or burned he wasn't sure. Martin suddenly pulled him into a brief hug. "So we went went down the hallway I saw all those bugs and well, I'm just glad we were actually right! My gut told me you were still alive and I knew it was right!" He said and Sam returned the hug briefly before he looked at his arms bloodied and covered in red marks or little bites from the worms. "Thanks for coming for me." He said as a sense of relief came over him. "What the hell were you two even doing out there all alone anyway?" Becca asked a hint of irritation in her voice as Sam and Martin separated. "Kelly and I found out how to get the train moving so we went and turned off the cold." Sam said and Martin and Becca looked at each other. "Well next time make sure we know, we were just worried." Becca said and Sam let out a sigh. "Yeah, that wasn't my best moment, but hey it's all good right?" He said as he started climbing the ladder and the others followed to Floor-B4 and Sam noticed the cold air wasn't coming out of the vent anymore. "Just cuz it worked out this time, don't mean it'll work out every time." Becca said. "Yeah what she said, these monsters don't really play fair, so we gotta be careful." He said and Sam let out a sigh. "Yeah. Sorry guys, I'll be more careful." He said as he walked to the door and opened it. "But thanks all the same, now we're that much closer to getting the train up and outta here." Martin said as he followed Sam down the halls that although they weren't warm, were at least not nearly as cold as they were. "Where's Kelly? She's okay right?" Sam asked and Becca nodded. "She had a bit trouble breathing, so we told her to wait by the train." She said and the group moved forward until Becca stopped, Martin and Sam stopped too looking back at her. "Something up?" Sam asked and Becca looked around then slowly pointed at the empty space near her. "Wasn't there a frozen thing here?" Sam felt his blood go cold. "We better hurry." Sam said as he rushed towards the door and then paused. "That big bug bastard could still be on the other side of this door." He said and Becca stepped forward drawing her handgun and handing it to Martin and the she pulled the shotgun off her back and readied it. Sam looked at the two who were armed with guns and when they were ready he opened the door and stepped aside.

Becca moved forward gun raised and looked all around. "I can hear it somewhere." Sam said as he heard the steady wing beats in the distance. "Got it! sentry mode: Engaged!" Martin as he slowly looked around gun at the ready. "If we're fast we don't have to worry about it." Becca said stepping forward faster then stopped. Sam heard the wing beats get closer and louder. "It's coming!" Sam said as he lowered his stance. "Don't breath in it's dust or whatever!" Sam said covering his face and Martin and Becca watched him before raising their shirts over their mouths and noses. "Where are you, you son of gun?" Becca muttered as the echoing wing beats seemed to come from direction and then another. The group moved forward silently as they looked around keeping their guard up. They were all tense as they waited for some kind of sign of attack, when it came all too suddenly and the moth flew up out of the darkness and above them. "Incoming!" Martin raised the handgun and followed the massive bug though it moved quicker than he thought and when he fired and missed, the bullet hitting metal in the distance. "Not good!" Martin said as he and everyone ducked as the moth dove towards them slamming it's body against the railing beside them. Sam stood up and was now face to face with the giant insect. "Remember me!?" He yelled as he rushed forward and slammed his fist into it's soft bug face and it fell backwards. "Nice, let's go!" Becca said and the group stood up still covering their mouths they rushed back to the blue lit walkway. "It's coming back!" Martin called just as Sam turned and was knocked to the ground as something slammed into him, his shirt coming off of his face and he inhaled a little. Instantly it felt like he was choking and he began coughing, trying to hold his breath didn't help, it felt like his lungs were on fire and he began to crawl away from the moth that landed on the walkway and started to crawl towards him. Martin grabbed under Sam's arms and pulled him away as Becca rushed forward. "Not on my watch!" She said aiming the shotgun and firing, The moth head vanished in a spray of green slime and guts and it fell limp on the floor. Becca seemed satisfied as she turned away and help lead the choking Sam towards the train.

Sam felt shaky breaths leave his body as he finally managed to stop choking. "You okay Sam?" Martin asked as Sam managed to start walking on his own. "Yeah." He answered in a raspy voice and would let out a few more smaller coughs. "H-hard to breath, but I'm f-fine." Sam said and they walked forward keeping an eye on Sam as he walked at the head of the group. "Maybe you should take a break." Becca said and Sam shook his head "I can take a break on the train-" He stopped at the corner of the room that led to the turn table. There lay a familiar woman. "Is that?" Sam stepped closer to the woman on the floor. It was Monica though her face pale and hair was messed up out of it's tight ponytail, next to her was the familiar case, open now, it had three strange capsules though each were broken and empty with only a small pool of liquid around them. "Hmph, can't say she didn't have it coming." Martin said as he walked past her. "Come on let's go." He said as he walked past Monica a small cough coming from him every once in awhile, Martin walked over to the terminal and turned the key. for a moment it seemed like it didn't seem to work but then a loud horn blared startling all of them, the turn table shook for a moment, then a siren began blaring. "What's going on!?" Becca shouted started as the others were startled and Martin looked over the terminal. "I-I don't know!" He said when a voice came over the intercom. "Warning the train terminal will be leaving shortly be stay behind the safety line." The voice repeated this several times and Sam looked at the train and started walking towards it. "I think that means we're good to-" A loud screech started all of them and they turned and looked towards the entrance of the train and there stood a green scaled monster, it's face a strange reptile with sharp teeth exposed, standing on two legs, with long claws hanging at the end of it's arms, it had an unsettling familiar look. "What the fuck is that!?" Kelly's voice called out as she poked her head out of one of the train windows. The green creature started running towards Becca who, turned and fired the shotgun. The monster let out a shriek as it fell onto it's back, however almost a second went by before it hopped back onto it's feet and continued to run at her. Wide eyed Becca took several steps back as she aimed again and aimed it at the monster, that leapt high into the air, one arm raised as it pounced at her. "Becca!" Sam cried out voice still raspy as Becca fired, this time much closer the creature lost chunks of it's body as it seemed fell to the floor and started to bleed out laying there flinching but ultimately it didn't move. "Was that... the thing we saw all frozen?" Martin asked as he went over to Becca who had fallen to the floor just staring at the creature. He lifted her up and she eyed the monster before she followed him to the entrance at the back of the train. Another screech alerted all of them to another one of the creatures standing there as it started to run towards Becca and Martin, both turned and fired it took the hits seemingly unfazed as it rushed forward a claw raised as it screeched again. Becca pumped the shotgun and ducked down and Martin took a step back, the monster swung it's large claw, Becca dropped to her knees right underneath the swinging arm and she pointed the barrel directly at it's face and fired, The creature lifted off the ground several inches into the air before falling back, it's face an even more unrecognizable mess. Sam watched as red blood pooled underneath it. "Nice one Becca!" He called out as Becca seemed to fall onto her butt before she snapped out of it and stood up. "I need more ammo!" She yelled as she reloaded a single shell and looked up as two more of those creatures showed up.

"Becca!" Kelly yelled and threw her a box from the window of the train. "Thanks darlin!" She said as she reloaded more shells the two creatures started running towards them and Martin took aim and fired several shots hitting one of the monsters in the leg and it fell tumbling forward, the other however jumped and swung its claw, Martin fell back narrowly avoiding the monster. Sam rushed forward and was about to hit the creature in a clothesline but it looked at him and screeched startling Sam enough to halt his momentum. Martin raised his gun and fired several times each hitting the monster in its sternum and at first it didn't seem fazed but after a moment it reeled back in pain and raised its arm as if to shield itself. Sam took the opportunity to run forward and slammed a fist into the Monster's face. it fell backwards and Sam pulled his hand back noticing the small cut on his knuckles from punching the monster in its jagged teeth, maybe that hadn't been the best idea. Martin reloaded and fired in the head and it seemed affected as it still tried to stand up, Martin fired and again before it lay unmoving. Becca pumped the shotgun and stepped closer to the other one and fired, its head splattered across the floor. The voice on the intercom still echoing through out the room. As more creatures stepped forward into the room. "How many are there!?" Martin said as he knelt down and placed one of his traps on the floor. "Get in here!"Kelly yelled and Sam had to agree as three of the monsters showed up and started running towards them, Becca turned and sprinted towards the back of the train as everyone followed. Sam turned his head as he saw the three green monsters get closer one stepped on Martin's trap and electricity shot out causing it to seize up and fall over. Now only two chased them. "Sam up here!" Sam turned and saw the raised caboose of the train several feet off of the ground, Kelly hanging out of the door, Sam climbed up onto the raised platform and turned around helping Becca in a quick motion then Martin who took pot shots at the scaly beasts that followed, Once they were all on they rushed into the train and locked the door behind them. 

After only a brief moment there were slams against the door and Sam saw one jump and cling to the window and break its arm through reaching around swing its claws wildly. Becca raised her shotgun and after waiting a brief moment for the right opening she shoved the gun forward and fired blood showering the window as the monster fell back away from the train. Suddenly another window broke and more claws started to reach in. "How many are there!?" Sam watched as before long there was a monster at each of the windows, even the one at the front of the train which was much larger than the others, the glass broke and one of the monsters start to crawl in. "Breach! Breach!" Martin said as Becca ran towards the front of the train, the shotgun rang out once again as did the monster's dying screech. Sam looked around and spotted a survival kit under one of the seats and opened it, there was a first aid kit, a flare gun, and a survival knife. Sam grabbed the knife and went to one of the window, the flailing claw didn't seem to know his exact location and he waited until he found a spot he could stand close enough to cut at the creatures arm, it let out a cry as he drew blood and pulled away before it stuck its other arm in almost catching him across his stomach. "Oh my God, there's so many of them!" Kelly said as she huddled in the corner.

Sam ran towards the other window and slashed at the arm. "Hey guys!" Becca called and Sam and Martin rushed to the front of the train. "Whats wrong!?" Sam asked and Becca pointed ahead towards Monica who was sitting up, grabbing her chest. "She's alive!?" Martin called and Monica let out a scream and began to claw at her chest, It was a primal scream filled with pain, her shirt started turning red at her chest, she gave one final cry as she arched her back and something burst from her chest before she fell back lifeless. "What the fuck?" They all asked in unison as some creature that looked like a snake but was covered in flesh instead of scales and tiny arms emerged from Monica's chest it crawled out and seemed to clumsily crawl along the floor. "Hey guys?" Kelly's voice called out and they all looked back, noticing the monsters had pulled away. Sam looked back to Monica and noticed the green monsters were heading back towards the labs keeping a wide birth of the small creature that came out of Monica almost as if they were afraid of it. Everyone watched as the smaller creature crawled towards the train. Then the floor started to rise as the turn table began to ascend towards the surface. "Oh that's not good." Martin said in a small voice as the creature started moving at a faster pace on its two tiny arms crawling towards the train. "Wh-what is that thing!?" Sam cried out as the creature stopped a few feet from the train and it started to writhe and twist. "It looks hurt." Becca said almost sympathetic but then it started to swell and grow, doubling then tripling in size it's arms grew long with sharp nails at the end of each hand, one arm growing longer than the other, boils and blisters collecting on its back and as a long growth began to trail along its legs that split from its body. forming some kind of gross tail that dragged behind it. It continued to grow tall and before long it was as tall as the train, One of the large boils on its back split open revealing a large eye that to started looking around. Everyone stared as the creature before them turned its body and the eye looked at them and the monster let out a gurgling growl as it stood up, slightly hunching its almost humanoid shape, its smaller arm brought close to its chest while the other arm dragged by its side.

They all looked at the new monster before them, anxiety and fear filling the air. "Is there any chance we can just leave?" Kelly asked in a quiet voice and they slowly moved towards the front of the train and looked the controls over. "But where would we go?" Becca asked and they looked at her in confusion. "Look at the tracks." She said and Sam's eyes followed the tracks and he saw the lead forward, directly into the wall. "The. Tracks don't go anywhere?" Martin asked and Sam looked around. "No look!" He pointed at the wall, near the side was a panel with a switch. "I bet the big wall is just a gate or something a-and it opens up!" He was putting a ton of hope into the idea that it was actually a way out with little to no proof, but the idea of them struggling to get this far only for them to hit a literal dead end was something Sam and probably everyone else couldn't stand. Sam headed to the back of the train and opened the door and looked around, all of the green monsters seemed to have fled, but the much larger one was still a problem. "Okay gather round children, I have a plan!" Martin said and everyone moved closer. "Okay so we split off in two teams, one team lures the ugly guy away from the panel and then team two makes a break for the panel." Sam was quiet before he realized Martin was done talking and seemed to be waiting for feedback. "Oh uh is that it?" Becca asked apparently waiting for more too. "I um. think it could work." Martin said growing quiet and Sam looked at Becca and Kelly. "Yeah, I think it could use a little more details, but uh yeah let's do it!" Kelly said and everyone stood up and moved out the train and hopped down off the train. "Kay, team one will be me and Marty." Sam said pointing towards the large monster that brought up its long arm and slammed it against the front if the train, as it growled. "We can distract that guy, you two move for the panel and try and get the door open (God I hope it's a door.) and we meet up back in the train, sound cool?" Martin said and Becca frowned and handed Sam the shotgun. "You'll probably need this more than me, Marty how many of those Martin mines ya got?" She asked worried and Martin pulled his backpack off and rummaged through it. "I got like maybe." He stuck his tongue out as he counted. "Six." He said a little defeated. "I should make more when I have the time." He mumbled as he pulled his bag back on. The group was still for a moment. "O-Okay, ready?" Sam asked and Martin held his hand out and looked at the others expectantly. "What? Oh." Sam realized what he wanted and placed his hand on top of Martin's then he looked at Becca who playfully rolled her eyes and set her hand onto the pile, then they all looked at Kelly. She simply sighed and followed suit and after a moment Martin gave a quick count down. When he got to zero they all threw their hands up and gave a small cheer, they all looked at him. "Whatever let's go." He said as he drew the gun and stood up, Sam followed him as they went to along the right side of the train, while Becca and Kelly went along the left. "Okay so how do we wanna do this?" Martin asked and Sam thought for a moment. "Oh the pterodactyl!" He said and Martin brought his hand to his chin in thought. "Ah yes, that could work."

Martin pumped the shotgun as he sat comfortably on Sam's shoulders. "This is a really bad idea." He chuckled as Sam started moving forward slowly and as he approached the monster he picked up the pace a little "Hey ugly, let's dance!" He said and Martin aimed the shotgun and fired, he fell back and Sam wobbled still holding on to his legs as Martin's torso fell backwards and Sam couldn't help but laugh as the two stumbled back. "Did we get his attention?" Martin asked as he tried to do some strange stomach crunch to lift himself back up. The large monster let out a loud growl and turned toward them. "I think I missed." Martin said as Sam lowered Martin and he awkwardly fell to the floor before standing back up. "Well it noticed us at least." Martin reached into his bag and pulled out one of his mines and set it as they backed away then set another. "He steps on it gets stunned and falls over and we win right?" Martin said as they watched the monster walk closer, it walked in long strides and suddenly one of its boils on its back burst and liquid sprayed all over it. "Ew." They said in unison and Sam glanced behind the monster and saw Becca and Kelly sneaking past towards the panel, hiding behind barrels as they approached their goal.

Martin's trap going off startle both of them as they looked at it and they both flinched shielding their eyes. "Wait, what happened!?" Martin looked around a small creature lay there stunned it was a few feet long and had tiny arms, but its head almost looked like a shark head including a row of sharp teeth. "Where did that come from!?" Sam asked as the tall creature slowly lumbered forward, another boil on it back burst and Sam watched as another of the small creatures fell to the ground wriggling a moment before it started crawling towards them. "That's not fair!" Martin said as it somewhat crawled and slithered towards them right onto the other trap triggering it, a crackle of static could be heard as the little monster seized up and lay there twitching, the larger one walked closer undeterred. Sam suddenly got a bad feeling as Martin stepped forward. "The plan hasn't changed just a minor hiccup." He said aiming the shotgun and Sam agreed as he aim the handgun.

The monster growled and another smaller larvae creature burst from it and started crawling closer. Sam and Martin slowly backed away as the monster walked closer towards them and they noticed Becca and Kelly run towards the panel. The monster slowly turned around, the eyeball staring right at Martin and Sam then it started moving towards Becca and Kelly. "Shit its going for them!" Sam said as he ran forward and fired the handgun hitting it right in the eye. The monster let out a loud cry of pain and a large boil on its back burst again now several larva dropped and three crawled toward Sam and the two walked along side with their mother or whatever it was towards the girls. "Oh crap!" Martin said as he and Sam stepped forward taking aim at the closer larvae. Sam took pot shots at the larvae that crawled around. Guns weren't his specialty so neither was aiming. He fired and hit one of the creatures and it curled up and started bleeding out, he turned towards another one and fired at it, it jumped to the side in a flash of movement and the bullet hit the floor next to it. "Shit." He backed up as it slithered closer now. "Sam we gotta get the big one's attention." Martin said as Sam watched it still moving towards the unarmed girls. "Right, trade me!" He said as he held out the handgun and Martin took it giving Sam the shotgun. "What are you going to-" Sam didn't wait for him to finish as he bolted for the big monster jumping over the little ones and it jumped after him but fell short. Sam sprinted forward and got close to the monster and held the shotgun up and pointed it at its back, right at the eyeball and fired. the close blast from the shotgun hit directly into the eyeball and it spun swinging its arm back handing Sam across the stomach, sending him flying back he hit floor and slid a few feet and groaned, It hurt but he didn't feel like it broke anything, another boil burst causing more of the smaller creatures to land onto the ground. "Yeah pay attention to me asshole!" He said standing up and the smaller ones turned and started crawling towards him. Now there were several of the little snakes slithering towards him and the largest one turned towards him and started walking at slightly quicker pace than before and it swung its long arm in an arc, Sam had to take another several steps back to avoid the long arm and the sharp claws at the end. Sam fell backwards and turned away as he ran back to the left side of the train getting some distance from the cluster of monsters. Gunfire could be heard from the other side of the train and Sam had to hope that Martin would be fine. Sam watched as all of the monsters turned toward and moved for him. An unsettling sense of dread filled him as he aimed the shotgun at the group slithering towards him, he fired and even though they seemed to try and hop out of the way they were still hit by the spread of the shell and each started writhing in pain letting out tiny screams. The larger one let out another cry as it picked up its pace and Sam turned to move to the back of the train.

More gunshots could be heard and Sam could see small spurts of blood pop out of the largest monster's side, though it seemed transfixed on Sam, another burst as more of its babies dropped and started crawling towards him. "Oh man, this is getting intense." Sam looked past the monsters and saw Becca and Kelly frantically searching for something. "Oh come work faster!" He growled to himself as he brought the shotgun up and ran forward and fired before taking several quick steps back, he hit a few of the little guys and he could see the legs of the big one bleeding but it didn't stop and started to swing its arm in long arcs as it stepped forward. Sam had to take several quick steps back before he turned and ran to the back trying to get around to the other side of the train.

He ran around the back of the train squeezing in between the wall the train and the terminal with the key, moving around he saw Martin on the right side of the train taking a few steps back as he fired at the larvae. "Marty! On your left!" Sam called out as one of the larvae crawled out from under the train and jumped up at Martin who turned and fell back out of the way, it landed next to him and turned just before it jumped again, Sam sprinted towards it and kicked it. It flew high into the air and slammed hard against the floor before it flopped back and started crawling towards them again. The lumbering figure started moving towards them again. "At least it's slow!" Martin said as he backed away from the monsters that approached them. "Yeah but the little asshole sure aren't!" Sam said as he backed away too. The large monster suddenly let out a cry and it reached its our long arm up behind it and another boil burst and it swung its arm forward and Sam's eyes grew wide as he tackled Martin to the side just as two of the smaller ones were thrown their direction and hit hard against the floor rolling a little bit before they started to slither towards them. "Holy shit! He's got range artillery!" Martin said as he aimed and fired, hitting the closer of the two but the other launched itself flying several feet into the air. Sam took aim and pulled the trigger, but was met with an unsatisfying click. "Wha-?" He didn't think he needed to reload, but it was too late and the larvae latched itself onto his forearm with a painful bite. Sam let out a cry of pain as he dropped the shotgun and swung his arm in an attempt to dislodge the creature that seemed to only bite harder, Sam's sleeve turning red from the blood. Martin ran over and grabbed the creature's head and tried to pull it off of Sam. Martin seemed a little panicked as he pulled but it didn't budge and even tightened its grip on his arm. "Let go you piece of- ARGH!" Martin let out a cry of pain as another one of the larvae jumped and latched onto his right shoulder. Sam pulled out the knife and after taking a moment to figure out how to attack the slithery little monster he slashed at its head and it fell back to the floor writhing in pain as it bled out, he then ran to Martin who pulled at the larvae. "Hold on Marty!" Sam said as he grabbed the tail and pulled it a little before he stabbed at its head and it opened its mouth to let out a small cry of pain before going limp. Martin rubbed the bloody spot on his shoulder where the bite tore his shirt.

The duo stood there as more of the smaller creatures started to surround them. Martin fired and Sam grabbed the shotgun and pumped it and an empty shell popped out, feeling like an idiot for not doing that earlier he aimed at the group closest and fired, they let out cries of pain as they scattered, some lay there dead others slithered away from Sam, but something hit Sam directly in his chest and he fell back. He felt something slimy on his chest he looked up and saw one of the larvae snapping its little jaws at his face and he grabbed it and lifted it away from him, but the larvae began to lunge towards him and it had a surprising amount of force behind it. "Get off!" Sam cried out as it continued to wriggle and snap at him. He heard more gunfire and then Martin let out a cry of pain and Sam took a breath before he slammed the larvae onto the ground next to his head stunning it before he slammed it again and threw it far away. He looked over and Martin had a larva clinging to his leg and he beat it with his gun and it eventually fell to the floor and he stomped hard on it and it gave a tiny scream. Sam ran over to him and kicked it away from Martin as he lifted his foot. "I think we bit off more than we could chew." Martin said and Sam nodded, when they heard a long loud metal creak come from the direction Becca and Kelly ran off too, but they couldn't see what exactly made the noise as the larger monster was much closer now startling both of them, it swung its arm and it slammed hard against them knocking them both to the ground. With a pained grunt Sam held a hand to his ribs where the monster made contact there wasn't any blood so that meant it hadn't clawed him. Sam looked up and the smaller clustered around and the larger one stepped closer, now only several feet away, Sam stood up and helped Martin to his feet and they both looked around, their guns knocked from their hands. "This is bad!" Martin grunted as he looked around desperately for the handgun Sam saw both of the guns not far away but it was surrounded by the smaller ones.

Suddenly gunfire rang out and the back of the large monster started to shower blood as it let out a distressed cry, Sam looked past it and saw Becca and Kelly both standing there firing automatics as they stepped closer. Sam watched for a moment before he felt Martin tug on his shoulder and jerked his head to the back of the train. "Come on!" He said and they both ran back Sam grabbing the shotgun on the way as Martin grabbed the handgun that wasn't much further away. The larvae jumped towards them as they ran past and one latched itself onto Sam's other arm and onto Martin's backpack. They hopped up into the train and Sam threw the shotgun down and pulled out the knife slashing off the larvae on his arm and then slashed the one on Martin's bag. They ran to the front of the train and looked out the broken front window, the massive metal wall had slid to the side and there were more tracks beyond it. "Hey! Come on lets go!" Sam shouted at the two below and they looked up and then turned and ran around to the left side as the large monster slowly chased after them. "Sam, we got a problem!" Martin said and Sam turned back and saw the larvae start to crawl in through the broken windows. Sam went for the shotgun but saw it get knocked off the seat and to the floor as larvae began to flood in and crawled along towards them. Martin fired twice before his gun clicked and he frowned and looked around spotting a tool box and reached into it Sam ran forward with the knife and swung hard, slashing open a larvae and another jumped at him, but something smacked hard into it and it flew back into the wall. Sam saw Martin standing there with a heavy looking wrench in his hand. The door opened and Becca looked around wide eyed, watching as the train had about a dozen larvae crawling around in the cabin. "Becca and Kelly both began to stomp and slam the butt of the guns they had found into the larvae that scattered around. "Martin get us out of here!" Becca yelled as a larvae jumped and bite her thigh. Martin ran to the front and Sam went with him stabbing at any larvae that crawled in through the front window. Martin pressed several buttons and after a second the train roared to life. In front of the train stood the large monster that threw more of its young into the open window. Sam raised his arms to shield himself as the several larvae flew in and jumped around biting Sam and Martin. "Get us out of here Marty!" Sam shouted as he threw a larvae off of him and Martin pushed a button. "At full power!" Martin said and the train slowly started to move forward the monster in front of them grew closer as the train sped up slamming into it and it let out a pained groan. Sam watched as it grabbed the sides of the train its face, now uncomfortably close, lacked eyes and its teeth were sharp. It continued to growled and groaned. The smell made Sam feel like he was going to wrench and he worried it would stop or even derail the train, but instead it started to cry out and wail maybe in pain as it slowly started to get dragged under the train. It started to spit blood into the window at them as it cried out some more before it was dragged below, the horrible sound of crunching bone and tearing flesh made Sam feel like he straight up might vomit and before long the the train sped along unhindered, he stabbed the remaining larvae that clung to him and Martin, one by one he threw them out the window. Sam and Martin watched as the scenery in front of them zoomed past as the train moved along the tracks. Sam snapped out of it and ran back towards the others. "Everyone okay?" He asked as he walked into the back of the train and saw Becca with her arms full of the dead larvae and was tossing them out of one of the broken windows. Her arms and legs were covered in bites and small trails of blood ran along her limbs. Kelly was sitting on the cushioned seat with her head in her hands. "Yeah I think we're good." Becca said as she threw the last one out and wiped her hands on her shorts. "Kelly, you good?" She asked and Kelly gave a thumbs up not looking up from the floor. Sam watched them and then turned as Martin walked into the room with them. "That was... So cool!" Martin said and everyone looked at him. "Becca and Kelly just showed up and were all ratta tat tah!" He said as he mimicked the machine gun and Sam smiled. "And Sam was all like whoosh! When he jumped over the crawlers and shot that big mother right in the back!" He said gesturing to Sam. "Yeah, it was nothing, and you two really saved our asses! Where'd you get those anyway?" Sam asked and Becca held up the rifle with a looking it over. "There were these two dead fellas looked military but all stabbed and slashed up, they didn't need them no more so." She said and Sam could put the rest together and he sighed. "So now what?" He asked and Martin smiled before he took his bag off and rummaged through it. "We celebrate!" He said pulling out the bottle of scotch.

For once since this all began Sam relaxed, not just a moment to breath relax, but actually kicked off his shoes leaned back grabbed the scotch and chug a big gulp along with the others. Becca waited until they grabbed the first aid kit and patched everyone up before she partook but once she was sure their wounds had been sprayed with disinfectant and wrapped with gauze she took the bottle and drank just as much as Sam did. "Whoo Whee!" She breathed as she passed the bottle to Kelly who watched her with a smile. "I don't ever wanna be that cold ever again!" she said and Sam had to agree, watching Kelly take a smaller drink than the others, She passed it to Martin. "I'm still freaking out over that big moth!" Kelly said and Sam shivered. "That thing tried to feed me to its babies!" He said and they all looked at him, Martin who sat closest put the cap back on the bottle. "Whoa, wanna talk about it?" He asked and Sam thought for a moment before taking the bottle and drinking another gulp. "Yeah just give me sec." He said as he put on a somber face then then held out his hand in a dramatic story telling fashion. "There I was surrounded by hundreds of giant caterpillars! A foot- No ten feet long! With razor sharp teeth!" He said and Becca tried to hide a grin so she just snatched the bottle from Sam.

They laughed as Sam told his story with the giant caterpillars that had he claimed had fists. "I ducked under its right hook and blocked its left, then I moved in giving it a barrage to its gut!" He said mimicking the movements of a boxing match punching the air. "I knew I had to take out their boss, or none of them would let me pass through their land!" He said and Martin was outright laughing, Becca was smiling as she cradled the bottle stealing a sip every now and then, Kelly seemed to be trying to keep a straight face. "The leader looked me in the eye. 'Finish me.' He said and as much as I wanted to make him feel the same pain he gave me. I just held out my hand and he took it." Sam said quietly. "And that's how I became the leader of the bug people!" He said and the others playfully applauded him as Becca handed him the bottle, he gave a small bow and he twisted off the cap and started drinking. Sam enjoyed the liquid that gave a slight burning sensation and he exhaled as he passed the bottle. He was fairly buzzed now and flopped down next to Martin and brought an arm around him. "I think we should come up with names for all the things we saw earlier!" Martin said just before he took a drink of the scotch that was starting to run a little low now. "Like what?" Becca asked, her eyes seemed to be eyeing the bottle. "Oh I got it! So those green scaly things? We need to name them something cool and dangerous like... Hunters!" Martin said Sam did think that sounded kind of cool. "Or maybe pointy arms!" Sam made buzz sound as if Martin got the answer wrong on a game show. Martin chuckled as he thought for a moment. "And the big ugly monster could be, uh- Oh Experiment-77!" He said and Sam glanced at him. "What?" He said and Martin gave a chuckle. "I dunno, we can call them whatever we want! I'm gonna call those little guys Pissers!" He said and Sam snorted. "Haha, watch out everyone the Pissers are coming!" He said and Becca started to chuckle now. "Oh no! Pissers!" She laughed and Kelly joined in soon they were all laughing at Pissers. "Does that mean the train ran over a big Pisser?" She said and the laughter continued.

Becca eyed Sam and Martin from across the train where she sat, they were still leaning against each other. "You two seem close." She mumbled into the bottle with a sly smirk. Sam looked at her then to Martin and he pulled his arm away and Martin fell back a little, now Kelly was interested in the conversation her gaze a little unfocused. "Why is that weird?" Sam asked his words slurring a bit as he realized how much he'd drank, Martin wasn't much better as he just smiled at Becca. "I'm just saying ya'll been preeetty close for awhile now, always hangin round each other, locking eyes whenever ya get the chance." She smiled and Sam felt his face heat up a little and he tried to say something. "Oh I can tell you why." Martin said as he looked up at Sam and planted a clumsy kiss on his mouth. Becca's mouth dropped open in a surprised smile. "When did this happen?" She asked and Sam covered his face, feeling shy at Becca and Kelly's gaze but he couldn't help smiling. "The night before we broke out. I went to Sam's room and... Uh. Hung out." He suddenly became aware of what he was saying and sat up a little. Becca was loving it. "Oh so you just hung out?" She said. "Uh yeah well um, you see, we um hehe uh see hmm." Martin fumbled over his words and Sam eventually covered his mouth. "We played cards." He said and Kelly laughed. "Oh cards yeah, I played cards with a lot of guys in college." She said with another laugh. "Okay. Maybe. We uh did something." Martin moved Sam's hand away only for him to bring it right back and he slouched down as Sam felt his ears burn. "But you know, patient confidentiality." He said and everyone looked at him, even he had a puzzled look on his face before he started laughing, and everyone joined him. "What?" Martin asked from his eyes and Sam shook his head. "I don't know!" He said and Becca wiped a tear from her eye as she calmed down a little. "Ah I love you dorks." She said and Sam let out a sigh. "We love you too." He said somewhat begrudgingly but still smiled. Martin still leaning on Sam. "You and Tyrone are sooo loud sometimes!" He said and Becca looked stunned. "What?" She asked and Martin looked at her. "Sorry when you two would, 'hang out' it would be really hard to sleep ya'know? So Sam said I could sleep with him in his room!" He mumbled still covering his face. Kelly's cackling grew louder as Becca seemed to have trouble finding words. "I uh, don't know what you- that's just redac-redenc- Phooey! And and... You said you slept with Sam!" She said even though now it was her face that was red and Kelly seemed to be eating it up as now she was looking at the flailing Becca. Sam simply covered his face as he reached for the bottle ready to down the rest of it. "Whoa slow down buddy." Kelly said as Sam gave a hard gulp and Martin snatched the bottle finishing it off. They both let out a breath as Sam felt his body heat up.

He wasn't even much aware of what was going on as he swayed his head. "Uh guys?" Martin said as he fidgeted in his seat. "Whassup Marty?" Sam slurred and Becca leaned up looking at him. "I uh gotta go and there's no bathroom." He said and Sam pointed to the back of the train. "Pee off the back of the trail... Train, my bad." He said and Martin looked a little surprised. "Really?" He whispered and Becca sighed. "Ah Marty if ya gotta pee just go out there, it's no big deal." She waved and Martin sat there for a moment before he got up and awkwardly went to the back of the train opening the door and walking out. Sam looked at the girls on the opposite side of the train. "So ladies." He said and they both turned towards him. "Who wants to watch me do a handstand?" He asked and they all gave another laugh and he got up, Becca held a hand up as if to stop him from trying to do a handstand. "Relax, I'm just gonna go pee too." He said as he stumbled to the back opening the door and stepping out into the night air that whooshed past. Martin stood on the caboose of the train, Sam closed the door startling Martin who looked over his shoulder. "Jeez Sam, you can't stop a man mid flow!" He said and Sam rolled his eyes and went to the side and unzipped, for a moment he was worried he'd fall over the railing onto the passing ground below and he took a step back and placed a hand firmly on the railing.

After their business was done they stood there, enjoying the night air. Martin let out a sigh as they stood close to each other. "Don't touch my hand, I didn't wash em." Sam said and they both chuckled. Watching their surroundings fly past them. "Shame there are zombies everywhere." Martin said and Sam moved closer, their bandaged arms touching at the elbows. "This is a pretty nice moment." Sam said as his head cleared a little. "Almost like a first date." He said and there was a silence. "So... Are we dating now?" Martin asked and Sam pondered this for a minute. "What have we been doing so far?" He asked and now Martin was quiet. "Mostly each other." He said and Sam snorted. "Nice." He said and there was another moment of silence. "I dunno. I thought we'd be dead a dozen times over, and each time... I think of how awesome it is that we both made it this far alive. Together." Sam said surprised and a little confused by his own words. Martin seemed to be thinking about what h said. "I never thought about it like that." He said and he placed a hand on Sam's. "I thought we'd be dead before we left that horrible lab. I thought I'd be dead my first test. The first time that Daniel jerk shot at me. Life is really short y'know?" Martin stared off into the distance, Sam watched as he seemed to be thinking about something. "Marty?" Sam asked and Martin gave his hand a squeeze. "When we get out of here, wanna go on a real date?" He asked and Sam seemed slightly surprised. "A real date huh? Sounds fun, are we gonna go dancing? Maybe see two zombie waddle around and call it a movie?" He laughed and Martin shook his head. "I mean when we get out of here. The city. When we're safe." He said sounding more serious than Sam had ever heard him. "I mean yeah, if we-" Martin lightly headbutted Sam's arm. "When we leave, not if." He said and Sam leaned his head on Martin's. "WHEN we get out of here... I get to take you out first." He said and Martin looked at him. "You know since I kissed you first." He said smiling and Martin smiled back. "So are we like. Officially boyfriends?" He asked and Sam felt his stomach feel a little light and he smiled. "I'm pretty sure we already told Valerie we were an item, I guess we can really become one, not just say it." He said and Martin thought for a moment. "We did tell her didn't we?" He said and they both sighed. "I miss them." Martin said quietly and Sam bit his lip. "Me too. I hope we see them again." He said and but Sam started to look around. "Are we slowing down?" He said as he noticed that the scenery wasn't zooming past like it was before, it was still moving by quickly but it was definitely slowing down. "We're stopping?" Martin turned around and walked into the train and Sam followed. Becca sat there with a smile. "Hey there, y'all were out there awhile what took you so long-" Martin walked over and grabbed his backpack. "The train is stopping." He cut her off and both her and Kelly sat up. "What, where?" Kelly said turning around to look out the window. "I dunno but we should get ready." Sam slurred as he slapped himself in an attempt to sober up. Becca hopped to her feet and grabbed the shotgun. "Whoo wish we had more time to sleep this off." She said as she brought a hand to her head. The train started to screech to a halt. Everyone was on edge as they looked out the windows they were in what looked like an abandoned train yard there were several rusty trains and containers along with a fenced in area surrounding them, and a large building with tracks leading in, but otherwise it was empty. Sam regretted drinking as much as he did, because now he thought he might vomit from anxiety or from zombie smell. 

They slowly opened the door leading out of the train and looked around, Sam walked forward and jumped down loosing his balance for a moment, The others followed him down now realizing how inebriated they actually were. Sam stepped forward he let out a yawn. "Oh crap what time is it?" He asked and he was suddenly hit with a wave of exhaustion. "It's probably like, fucking early in the morning." Kelly said as she rubbed her eyes they looked up and only saw a dark sky. They continued to walk the train yards, relaxing more as they didn't seem to run into any trouble. "Where are we?" Martin asked shoulders slumped. "A train yard." Becca said. "I think he meant where in the city." Sam said as they went from a cautious advance to a casual walk as they all stepped along the gravel. "Who fucking knows. This city is like a maze and puzzle had some gross swamp baby." Sam said and they arrived at the chain link fence of the Raccoon city rail yards. Sam checked the fence and found a part where the rust had made it break away from the post and he pulled at it, Martin went over and helped him and after a moment they pulled the fence back enough for Becca and Kelly to slip through then they held it open for Sam and Martin to slip through. They walked out to the street nearby and looked around. "Damn." Martin said as they looked around, the streets were covered in wreckage and blood, zombies wandered aimlessly not noticing them. They looked up and down the streets. "To the left, or to the right?" Martin asked as they looked around. The group decided regardless they needed to get off the streets and moved away from the few zombies that wandered the streets. "Hey I think I've been here before." Kelly said and they all looked at her. "Yeah, we're near Raccoon University." She said and looked at each other. "Maybe we can rest there. It might be safer than just wandering around waiting to get eaten." Becca said and there weren't any objections and the group decided to follow her as she led the way to the University.

The walk was thankfully uneventful as they all seemed to drag themselves along, fatigue taking its toll on each of them. "I'm so tired of walking." Martin said as the University grew closer and Kelly walked to the front door of the University and opened the large door and held it open for the others. They walked into what seemed like the entrance hall, and Sam let out a whistle as he looked around the massive room, a grand stair case splitting off in two directions leading to a second floor balcony that went along the entire room, there were several doors in all directions. "Hey where's the dining hall or lunch room? Anywhere there might be something to eat?" Martin

asked and Kelly thought for a moment before she led waved a hand for them to follow, She walked to the right and opened a door and led them through. They walked down a hallway and made several turns. Sam thought he might fall asleep while walking, they continued to walk until they entered a large room with several tables with chairs stacked up, it looked like a typical cafeteria. Kelly sat down in the chair. "Dunno if there's anything to eat in there." She pointed towards the kitchen and Martin walked in there with Becca following, Sam found a spot to sit across from Kelly and rubbed his temple. "So Sam." Kelly's voice spoke up and he opened an eye to look at her. "Whatcha need?" He mumbled and Kelly crossed her arms and leaned forward on the table. "You and Martin are dating? What's that like?" She asked and Sam shrugged. "It's still pretty new, I wanna do stuff, have some fun, like a real date. But first things first we gotta get outta here alive." He said and he could feel his eyes struggling to stay open. "Hmm I get that." She said.

Sam was gently nudged awake and he looked up at a steaming plate of what looked like mac and cheese with chicken nuggets. "May I present a Martin original! Mart N' Cheese!" He said and passed a plate to Kelly too, Becca walked over and grabbed a chair from the stack and brought it to the table. "Oh wow." Sam said drowsily as he was handed a fork and Martin sat next to him, glasses of water were brought to everyone too. Sam took a fork of warm macaroni and savored the cheesy flavor. "This turned out great Martin." Becca said and Sam agreed. "Thanks, I'm just glad we didn't have to pay for it." Martin said as he put a menu on the table before digging into his own plate. "Cheesy Mac for nine bucks? Chicken nuggets for ten? What a rip off." Sam mumbled, and everyone agreed. They ate their meal and got up. "We should find somewhere to rest." Sam said half asleep and everyone agreed. They walked through the halls following Kelly to the entrance hall, "If I remember right..." She said and she started walking up the stairs they followed her, each step seemed to drain more energy than the last reaching the top Sam followed Kelly as if on auto pilot. They walked to the door in the corner that led to a hallway, they walked down it arriving at two doors opposite of the hall from each other. "I don't think any of us are in the mood to walk to the dorms down the street right?" Kelly asked and they nodded in agreement. "So maybe this place will do?" She said walking to the door labeled drawing room, inside was a pleasant room with a comfortable vibe, a few busts of some important looking people sat in the corner of the room. "Someone can sleep on the couch in here, I think there is another in the president's room back through there." Kelly said pointing towards a door along the back wall she locked the door behind them and walked over to the chair by the desk. Sam walked over peeked through the door into the president's room. It was a fairly normal room for some important university big wig, a faint light from the desk lamp dimly lit up the room with a soft almost comforting glow, and there was a couch a fairly comfortable looking one too. "Dibs." He looked back and saw Becca already getting comfortable on the couch in the drawing room pulling off her boots as she lay down. "Fine I'll take this one. Martin, you coming?" He asked and Martin smiled as he yawned. "Yuppers, I say tomorrow we figure out what we need to do next." He said and Sam heard Becca agree as the door closed behind Martin and Sam flopped onto his back down taking up the entire couch, getting comfortable. Martin walked forward and Sam smiled at him slipping off his jacket and held it up. Sam kicked off his shoes and Martin did the same setting them next to his backpack. "So sexy-" Sam let out a long yawn. "What brings you here?" He asked barely keeping his eyes open. Martin simply climbed on top of Sam as he brought his jacket over the mechanic as a makeshift blanket. And once Martin found a position he and Sam were comfortable with, they sat there comfortably. Sam let out a long sigh, Martin snuggled closer in an attempt to get comfortable. "Martin?" Sam asked as he started to feel Martin's hands slide up his sides. "Yes?" He answered playfully and Sam started to shift as the hands began to move up higher. "Wh-what are you-?" Sam felt the hands rest just before reaching his under arms. "I know what you're doing." He said and Martin smiled. "What's wrong? Are you?" He started and Sam squirmed a little. "No d-don't say it." He said as he fidgeted, Martin started to wiggle his fingers. "Are you ticklish?" Martin asked in a teasing tone and Sam clamped a hand over his mouth to keep the laugh from leaving. "Come on Sam, let it out." Sam tried to resist as Martin's finger crawled up even further. "N-not the armpits!" Sam muttered out as he giggled. Martin ignored him and went for the killing blow. Reaching Sam's weak spot, the boxer let out a loud laugh. "Marty!" He cried out and he laughed harder. "Aw Sam, you sound so cute." Martin cooed and Sam tried to push him off but Martin was keeping himself in place. "Martin, I'm serious! I can't stand being tickled!" Sam cried as he tried to catch his breath. Martin seemed to pout as he leaned his chin on Sam's chest. "Please? It's fun." Martin said and Sam looked at him a feeling of nervous unease filled him and he paused, was he actually considering this? "Nope sorry can't do it, I don't wanna hurt you." He said and Martin sighed. "What if you were tied up?" He asked and Sam's eyes widened. "Maybe tied to a bed." Martin's voice was a low whisper and it was turning Sam on. "You're drunk." Sam said back, eyes wide and Martin leaned closer. "Not that drunk, this is real talk." He said and Sam was caught off guard, they had sobered up a bit but Sam knew he was still feeling the booze. "You wanna tie me up?" He asked stunned and Martin nodded. "And... You want to tickle me?" He asked nervous and Martin gave a laugh. "I was just kidding about that." Sam let out a sigh of relief. "Well maybe a little bit." Martin said and Sam glared at him, Martin just smiled back. "When we get out of here." He said and Martin brightened up. "Really?" Sam nodded and felt his eyes close, it was difficult to keep them open at this point. "Even the tickling?" Martin teased and and Sam sighed. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there." He said and Martin laughed as he laid his head on Sam's chest. "Can't wait." Martin said quietly as Sam felt himself drift off into sleep a hand wrapped around Martin's waist.

Sam couldn't remember what he dreamed of and for a brief moment he wasn't even sure he was awake as he looked around the now dark room. A sleeping Martin on him kept him in place, he didn't mind as he watched his boyfriend's rhythmic breathing, it was still weird to think of Martin as his boyfriend, the same dorky Martin who'd talk about himself in the third person, He gave a silent laugh. However he did feel like his arm was going numb and he wanted to shift Martin but was afraid of waking him. So he was content to just sit there and try to sleep again. The sound of something shifting caused his eyes to open and he shot up. "Martin wake up." Martin rolled off of him and fell to the floor. "Martin, something's in here... Martin?" He looked down at the still sleeping Martin. "Hey come on this isn't the time... to..?" He grew worried and went down and shook Martin who didn't wake up. "Martin!?" He looked around the room, it was pitch black much darker than when they entered as the desk lamp was off. "I'm afraid he won't wake up for quite some time." A man's voice called out from the darkness Sam looked up unable to see anything as he looked out to where the voice called out. "Who-Who's there? Show yourself!" Sam said as he stood up, only for him to wobble slightly and fall to his knees. "What's going on?" He asked himself as he tried to stand again but his body felt heavy. "I got careless." The voice said as the lamp on the desk turned on. "Of course a larger body would require a larger dose." He said now illuminated by the desk light. A man possibly in his thirties or forties, blonde hair slicked back, large frame glasses on his face, and blue shirt with a tight collar, but what made Sam want to punch him the most was a small Umbrella logo on his chest. "Forgive me, supplies are rather limited, and I do need you all to wake up sooner rather than later. You understand yes?" He walked forward and Sam started to feel dizzy. "What did you do?" Sam asked as he tried to stand once more but fell back and he tried to slide away. "I understand you all must be tired and you will get an opportunity to rest." He said and he held up a syringe and inserted it into a bottle pulling some liquid from it. "It's clear you're feeling the affects so only a minor dose is needed. We don't want to waste a perfectly good subject now do we?" The man walked forward. "B-Becca!" Sam cried out barely loud enough to sound like a shout. "Oh don't worry they can't hear you, this room is sound proof. Wouldn't want to interrupt their beauty sleep. Wouldn't you agree?" The man said and Sam held up a trembling hand to try and push the man away, He simply grabbed him by the wrist and turned his arm over and Sam couldn't pull away. The man dug the needle of the syringe into Sam's arm and he tried to make a noise but instead his vision faded to black.

Sam jolted awake, his breathing hard to get under control as he frantically looked around. The room was a small one with several large test tubes large windows over looking a large empty room that looked like a lower floor was completely flooded with water, A single door leading out of the room Sam found himself in. "Good morning." A voice came over the intercom above him. "Where am I?" Sam shouted. "Do not worry about that, please just do what you need to do. To find your friends that is." The man said and the intercom cut out. Sam felt like he was freaking out and he looked around. "Please! Don't put us through this!" He couldn't get his breathing under control and he looked down at his hands, they couldn't stop shaking and Sam wanted to curl in on himself but he stood up and went to the door. "Martin!?" He shouted as he opened the door and walked into the new nightmare he found himself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, making this is a lot of fun, and I'll try to keep up with the chapters but things in my life are making it somewhat difficult to write as often as I like, plus I need to fix a lot of errors on a different story I'm working on, I'm unsure when the next update will be but I can only ask you be patient, thanks for understanding!


	6. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group continues to move forward pushing through whatever struggles they face, hoping to finally find a way out of the city.

January watched as the train sped off down the tunnel, the rears lights vanishing in the dark. "They left us!?" She yelled angrily. "No time! Over here!" Tyrone yelled as he aimed the rifle he got from Becca at the largest flea that walked away with Jill in its clutches. "Help!" Jill called out as she struggled against the giant insect's grip. January wanted to chase the train, to climb on board to ride it out of this hell, but that wasn't an option and she turned her attention to the current danger. The Queen Flea and her minions. The group had to shake off the stunned feeling of being abandoned, they needed to focus. Jill tried to aim her handgun but her arms were held firmly to her side. "Come on Jan!" Valerie said as she ran past towards the bug and its captive. January took a breath before she followed Valerie's lead. "Tyrone can you shoot its legs off?" She yelled as she walked past and Tyrone shook his head. "No I'll hit her!" He said as he fired the rifle into the bug's back. The flea seemed to stumble forward a little for turning around and let out a screech. "Yeah cry like a bitch!" January yelled back as she picked up a piece of rubble from the train crash and threw it as hard as she could into the bug that didn't seem to notice. "Behind you!" Jill cried out as she continued to struggle. January looked back as she saw several of the smaller fleas crawling out of the vents. Tyrone looked back and aimed the rifle at the smaller fleas. "Don't look away!" January cried as the queen flea lumbered forward with a single limb raised and smacked into Tyrone's back sending him to the floor. January sprinted forward and grabbed the rifle. "You help Val, I'll save Valentine!" She said as she gave the Queen a wide side step aiming it and firing, feeling the rifle jerk her shoulder back in a harsh recoil. It hit the side of the queen and it flinched harshly dropping Jill who fell to the floor and scrambled away firing her hand gun into its stomach as she did. "Fuck that hurt!" She mumbled in a hiss as she readied another shot.

With Jill taking as many shots as she could while crawling away the queen took several steps back letting out another high pitched cry. "She's calling more!" Tyrone yelled as he brought his leg up kicking a flea that was to slow to attack it went flying back. "That doesn't even make sense! Fleas don't have queens!" Valerie cried as she aimed her handgun and fired. "It's Umbrella! Who knows what the fuck they made!" January shouted as she tried to aim at the queen's head when something bumped into her throwing off her aim. January looked at her right arm and saw a flea latched onto her biting into her exposed flesh. "Damn it!" She dropped the rifle as she tried to grab the flea and pull it off. "January, Over here!" She heard Jill's voice and looked at her she had a knife in her hand and January turned to where the flea was more exposed and Jill tossed the knife landing into its side and it dropped to the floor, January reached down and pulled the knife out of the flea before stomping hard on its head. "Thanks, heads up!" January pointed at the queen again and fired hitting it closer to the head and blood gushed out. The queen seemed to cut its losses as it retreated into the train tunnels. "She's running, so should we!" Tyrone said as he backed away from the horde of insects closing in on them. "But what about the other?" Valerie called out and Tyrone grabbed her arm as the group ran towards the platform opposite of the fleas. "We'll worry about them when we get out of here!" January called. She could hear the reluctant agreements from the other two as she followed Jill up the stairs towards the streets they had abandoned earlier. Moving past the fleas towards the surface was a bit of a blur as she felt the adrenaline pump through her legs and she stormed up the stairs, heading up to the other exit opposite of the one they went down as a group of eight now only four.

Jill was the first to reach the streets and she looked around aiming her gun to make sure there was no danger. "We're clear, move!" She called and January was right behind her looking at the destroyed streets. "Out of one shit hole and into another." she muttered and the two others joined her. "What now?" Valerie asked quietly. "I think we should find somewhere safe to decide what we need to do next." Tyrone said and there was a general nod of agreement as they hurried away from the subway entrance and the tunnels that led to an all new set of nightmares. They ran and then walked when they needed a break, until they were sure they were far enough away they finally sat down for breather, right on the side of the street. January let out a breath as she went to speak first. "They left us behind." She said and Tyrone shook his head. "No, we don't know if that's what happened!" He said irritated and Valerie held her arms around herself. "But why would they leave?" She whispered and January threw her arms up. "They saw an opportunity and took it! They didn't care if we lost one or four of us!" She looked at Jill who was staring off down the street. "Should've gone with them." She thought bitterly, She didn't know this lady, why did she throw away her chance at freedom for someone who she didn't even know. "Maybe Martin didn't know how to stop it?" Valerie offered and January scoffed. "Martin's almost a genius, he knew what he was doing." January said bitterly, the feeling of betrayal ebbed through her mind, it hurt thinking that someone who watched her back for two months would abandon her. "Should have seen it coming." She thought as Tyrone rubbed the back of his head making a loud groan. "Whatever, we can't do anything about it now. We need to find a place to lay low, get some rest and then we find a way out of here!" He said loudly, his face had an angry expression as he took a deep breath. "Okay, that's something we should do." Valerie whispered.

They walked down the street with Jill taking the lead, her gun drawn and her eyes darting all around. "Keep your eyes peeled." She said and January rolled her eyes. "Now she's telling us what to do." She mumbled out of earshot of the others. "Hey... What street are we on?" Valerie asked as they passed a street sign. January looked up at the sign and sighed. "Ennerdale Street... Wait that's..." She thought for a moment that street had some significance she was trying to remember why, when Jill's voice piped up. "The police station is nearby." She said and everyone glanced around at each other. "We literally have no other options." Tyrone sighed and after an unspoken agreement they decided that at the very least they might be able to find some weapons.

Walking along the streets at night was something January usually had no problems with, at least before all this began. She'd run into her fair share of creeper or asshole eager to make a violent buck but she could usually handle herself, with the help of the her favorite taser that is. But now with the street lights barely illuminating the bloodied roads, she felt much less confident about her odds now. The occasional distant scream weren't doing anything to calm her down. She let out a breath as they walked keeping an eye out for anything dangerous, but only crashed cars and broken windows to building that January watched waiting for movement in case she had to warn the others. "We're almost there, just a little... further..." Jill's voice fell flat as she saw the toppled police barricades in the street, several zombies shuffled aimlessly about blocking the large iron gates that led into the police station. "Can we sneak past them?" Tyrone asked and Jill handed her handgun to him before pulling the shotgun from her back. "If we can't then we'll fight our way in."

They didn't sneak in. Nearly as soon as they started to move towards the police station the zombies started to shuffle towards them. Tyrone gave a hard kick to the first zombie that walked towards them hitting it hard in the chest it and it fell back hard. "Come on people let's go!" He called as they ran towards the gates. January hated the slow zombies, the first time she ran into one, she didn't think anything about it, some slow asshole. Then it nearly bit her throat out, she had a personal vendetta against them every since, especially when they out numbered her like this. The zombies moved closer, there were easily a dozen of them and although they seemed to move slowly, everyone present knew just how quickly they could sneak up on you if you aren't paying attention. Jill fired her shotgun splattering the head of the second closest. Valerie was the first to arrive at the metal gate and she pulled at it and it slowly opened with a loud metal creaking. "It's open let's go!" She said and everyone rushed through. January sprinted into the courtyard looking up at the police department sign. "It all comes back to the police." She thought as she frowned as she thought back to her investigation on chief Irons.

Tyrone and Jill were the last ones in and they all pushed the gates shut then they moved the lock into place shutting it with a loud metal clank. "Okay so now what?" Tyrone sighed as the group turned towards the police station. "I say we head on in..." Jill said as she walked towards the double doors in front of them. January hated police stations, especially one where that might be responsible for her getting captured by umbrella in the first place. Entering the police station was a strange feeling, January knew it used to be an art museum and had a more than over the top and gaudy look, but now seeing the polished marble floors and statues of lady justice covered in blood was unsettling and now that she saw the shutters to the right of them had a sign that said 'KEEP OUT' on a piece of cardboard taped to it. Blood was leaking out from underneath. "Cozy." January said loudly and her voice gave a slight echo. "We can get to the S.T.A.R.S. armory upstairs, if we're lucky they might still have something we can use." Jill spoke in a serious tone, January thought it must be unnerving to see her place of work in such a horrifying state, that or she hated this place just as much as any sane person should.

They walked around the front desk to a computer. Jill pushed a button and the screensaver flickered off and a map of the station popped up on the screen. "Here, see?" She pointed towards the screen. Tyrone walked closer and looked over her shoulder to see the monitor. "Okay sounds good and then we... What's that?" This got January's attention and she perked up attempting to see what he was pointing at, Jill moved the mouse and minimized the map of the station and saw a video feed from a security camera, on the feed was a man in a suit with nicely combed hair, he was swinging a metal pipe into the head of zombie that seemed to be a former police officer, now it was a walking corpse, at least it was until that man hit it. He was catching his breath before he looked around. "Is this live?" Valerie asked as the man ran off screen onto another before he moved to a room that didn't seem to have a camera. "Who cares?" January asked and Tyrone looked back at her. "We should, if there are normal people in here we should help them out." He said and January rolled her eyes. "Helping is kinda what got us into this mess in the first place." She said and Jill slammed her hands on the desk. "You got a problem with me!?" She yelled and spun around to face her. January uncrossed her arms and took a step forward. "Yeah, if you were more careful, we wouldn't have gotten off of the train to save your ass!" She shouted back and the two women took a step closer towards each other tension running high, Valerie grabbed January's arm and pulled her back a little as Tyrone stepped forward pushing the other arm. "Jan, calm down! It's not her fault!" He said and January was led away. "Like we could have expected a giant God damned flea!" Jill shouted and January jerked her arms free. "We keep getting stuck in these shitty situations and crawling out of these shit shows just by the skin of our teeth! Now we've been ditched by three of our own!" She yelled and Jill flinched a little but held her furious expression. "We weren't ditched on purpose!" Valerie said her voice raising in volume. "How do you know that!" January leaned in close. "For all we know Sam and Martin wanted to run off for awhile now and they just took Becca along with them!" Janaury was still shouting. "Becca wouldn't ditch us!" Tyrone was now shouting and January turned towards him. "What if she didn't really have a choice huh? Martin was the one behind the wheel!" January still shouting watched as Tyrone's face started to show anger. "So what you think Martin what? Betrayed us?" January threw up her hands. "Why not? He saw his chance to run and he took it!" Tyrone shook his head. "You're crazy. That kid would run through a brick wall for any of us and you think he just ran off?" "He wanted to get Sam out of there and didn't care if we were on board or not... Literally." She said bitterly and Tyrone raised an eyebrow. "Why..? Whatever, look not everyone is out to get you! Accidents happen, so get over yourself, right now we need to go find that guy and help him!" He said and turned to Jill. "Do you know where that hall was?" He asked and Jill nodded. "That was the break room through there!" She pointed to the shutter with the sign. "Of fucking course." January mumbled.

Unable to deter the group's decision, January reluctantly followed keeping her distance from Jill the entire time, they stepped to the shutter, Jill and Tyrone gripping the handle and they lifted with a grunt. The other side of the shutter showed a dark hallway, the lights flickered dimly lighting the extremely bloodied walls and floors. January was immediately was put on edge as she heard their footsteps make wet splat sounds as they walked on the sticky blood. Walking forward they turned the corner and found a zombie that was lazily hitting the window. Jill stepped forward her gun at her side as she reached for a door knob at the end of the hallway. "Hello?" She slowly opened the door with her gun at the ready. "Who's there!?" A man's voice called out and Jill opened the door more. "My name's Jill Valentine, I'm a police officer." She said holding up a badge as she walked through the door into the break room. "A police officer?" The man's voice asked and he slowly walked into view from around the corner. "Oh there's a group of you, I suppose that's a relief." He said and January could now see he was a fairly handsome man with the smallest bit of grey in his nicely combed brown hair, small bits of blood splattered across his grey suit and brown sweater vest underneath he had a bloody, slightly bent pip in his hand. "Are you hurt? Did you get bit?" Jill asked as she holstered her gun. The Man gave himself a look over. "No, you can relax I will not turn." He said and January raised an eyebrow. "And you are?" She asked skeptical of the man in front of them. The man stood up straight adjusting his shirt a little. "Ah yes, My name's George, I trust that you are the reinforcements that the police sent after?" He asked and now everyone seemed confused. "What do you mean? We just got here from the streets." Valerie said and George seemed to deflate a little. "Oh I see, you're just more seeking refuge." He seemed to be a little disheartened at this and turned away for a moment. "I worry that help won't come." He said as he looked down at a nearby dead zombie, it's head bashed in badly. "You mentioned reinforcements?" Jill asked and the Man turned towards the group again. "Yes, another officer said that before communications were cut off they managed to request back up, though that was several hours ago and frankly." He looked out the window to the zombie still barely smacking the glass. "I fear if they take much longer there won't be anyone left to save." He murmured and January felt a shiver crawl up her spine. "Well I'm sure they're on their way, or something." January said shaking her feeling of unease away. "The name's January, That's Valerie and Tyrone." She pointed at the others introducing each of them and George gave them each a firm handshake which January refused.

With George unceremoniously joining the group they hurried back to the main hall. "So George, what were you doing out here?" Jill asked. "Seems like this isn't the safest place." She said sounded a little skeptical. "To be honest I was looking for a weapon, the police officers ran off and left me and a few others alone in the main hall but after we waited and heard nothing for quite some time, they all started to grow restless and wander off." He frowned. "I suppose I did the same, I was on the second floor following an officer but after he was killed, I ran and found myself a little lost, I took the stairs outside when I ran into a few more of those zombies." January listened to the way he spoke it was very calm, and almost robotic. "Oh fuck Umbrella didn't make killer robots did they!?" She thought before silently laughing at her ridiculous idea. "Yeah this place can be a bit of a maze, you said there were others?" Jill said and they made it back to the main hall the brighter lights shining down on the group. "Yes I believe they went that way, towards the west office." George said pointing towards the opposite end of the large room. "The officer I followed said he might know where a gun was that could help keep us safe, unfortunately we never found it before he died." George did seem to have a small amount of remorse but overall the way he spoke of the dead officer and the situation was a little too calm for January's liking. "So should we wait here for rescue?" Valerie asked and Jill shook her head. "No, if help hasn't arrived yet, then there's a chance it isn't coming at all. We should worry about leaving the city now." She said and January crossed her arms and looked at the rest of her group, their looks seemed uncertain. "But what about Becca? And Sam and Martin?" Valerie asked and there was a silence. Jill looked back at them. "If they're as good as you say they are, then I'm sure they'll be fine." She said before turning back towards the door that led to the west office. "We didn't say how good they were." Tyrone said slightly confused and Jill shrugged. "Took a shot in the dark." She mumbled.

They walked through the waiting area for civilians, the window leading to the police officers' office covered in junk, cardboard boxes and broken furniture littered the room. January looked around, it was almost clear of any signs of an attack, but the cracked windows with bloody hand prints didn't give off any vibes of safety. "I bet this was a nice place before all this." Valerie chimed as they walked to a door further back. Jill let out a sigh. "It had its charm." She said and she reached for the door knob, when something moved quickly across the window startling everyone. "What was that?" January asked and Jill pulled her shotgun off her back. "Something bad."

The door opened and the atmosphere immediately changed. "Holy shit..." January muttered as they entered a dark hallway, the lights were out and the walls were covered in blood much like the one they found George in, what was different however were the huge claw marks everywhere. "It's gotta be Lickers." Tyrone growled as he readied Becca's rifle. "How much ammo do you have left?" January whispered and Tyrone's face fell a little. "You weren't keeping track of your shots were you?" She asked and Tyrone pulled the bolt back and checked inside. "I got think I got one left." He said somewhat embarrassed, Jill looked over her shoulder at him with an eye raised. "Are you kidding me?" She said slightly annoyed and the others gave her a "Shhh." Confusing her for a moment. "They hunt by sound." Valerie whispered and Jill nodded and turned her head forward. They walked forward and January felt a light tap on her shoulder. "May I ask what a licker is?" Georges voice whispered and January looked back at him for a brief moment, he wasn't as calm looking as he was before, a small amount of fear could be seen in his eyes. "A monster made in a secret lab." She whispered and George looked a little puzzled for a moment before returning to his calm expression as before. "Very well." Was all he said.

As they walked down the halls they spotted a man sitting on the ground leaning against the wall, his head had three large gashes along the side splitting it open. "Lickers slash at ya with long claws, real agile bastards." Tyrone said as they walked past the corpse that didn't seem to turn into a zombie. "They also have really long spear like tongues that seems to be used as a longer range of attack." Valerie said and Jill let out a breath. "They are extremely lethal." January said in a snobby voice mimicking what Alex Wesker said when she first sent them after the test subjects, which caused a snicker from the others who knew her. "So how do you kill them?" Jill asked and Tyrone looked around the corner slowly. "Shoot them. A lot." He said and Jill let out another breath. "Good." She said.

The hallway was bloody and dark more and more torn corpses lay unmoving. "You recognize any of these people?" Tyrone asked George who raised an eyebrow. "I suppose that chunk of flesh could be the elbow of one of the officers who let me into the station, but I'm afraid with out seeing the shoulder there's just know way of knowing." He said his voice had a hint of sarcasm and January gave a snort. "I like this guy." She said and there was a screech and everyone grew tense. "Show time." Tyrone mumbled as a familiar red creature crawled along the ceiling at first it looked like it was coming after them but as it got closer it slowed and then began to wander aimlessly right above them. Its tongue came out and slowly whipped around before it started to walk away. Everyone stared up at it, the exposed muscles were unsettling and the sharp claws and teeth put January on edge. She hated how the exposed brain looked like a single shot would put the horrible monster down, but it always took more than one. Jill, Tyrone, and Valerie all aimed up at it. Jill slowly took out her handgun and gave it to January who took it and aimed it right at the licker's head. The following barrage of gunfire was deafening but the result was more than satisfying as the licker was riddled with bullets, January had a thing where after every encounter she would think fondly of someone as kind of her own personal MVP system, like when Valerie shoved a grenade in a zombie's mouth, or When Sam picked up a zombie and threw it at another three. Tyrone had to take the MVP tonight as the rifle Becca may have unintentionally loaned him took off the licker's head. It dropped dead to the floor with a heavy thud January smiled as it didn't even twitch.

They walked through the halls to a double door carnage and failed blockades littered the halls. Entering the room stood a single zombied woman in a suit who turned towards them. Tyrone made quick work of her as he swung the rifle like a bat into the side of her head. She lay there unmoving, Jill knelt down next to her a sad expression on her face. "Did you know her?" George's voice asked and Jill shook her head. "I'd seen her around but we never spoke, I never even knew her name." She said as she stood up. "Come on the armory isn't much further." She said and the group moved forward climbing over the desks and tables that were used as makeshift barricades. January wanted to say something along the lines of how it didn't seem to do them much good, though she suspected that right now wasn't the time, Jill seemed to be pretty upset about the scenery as they'd pass a corpse or a room that she would simply stop and stare before walking on. They found a room with a heavy duty door. Jill walked over and opened it looking inside she let out another sigh. "Not as much as I'd like." She said and the others walked into the armory. January had to agree there wasn't much, an extra shotgun and a handgun, but thankfully plenty of ammo. "I'll take that." January said grabbing the shotgun. Tyrone grabbed the handgun and the group packed as much relevant ammo as they could into Valerie's bag and went to the door. "So what now? We hike until we waddle out of the city?" January asked sticking some extra shells into her pocket. Jill frowned. "Probably not, maybe we can find a car in the garage to take though." She said and January had to admit that it sounded way better than walking.

Getting to the garage was the hard part. With several doors bared shut they had to make a slight detour, heading once again through the main hall, January giving salute to the lady justice statue as they went to the east side of the station, back to where George was found. "It seems like we've just gone in one big circle." George said and there was a collective sigh. "Yeah. Ya get used to it." Jill said as they walked back to the break room, then walked further past it to a stairway leading down. "The garage is down there... Along with the kennel." Everyone turned their heads to her. "You can't say I didn't warn you." She said taking the first step down to the basement floor.

January followed at the back of the group keeping an eye out for anything that might try to sneak up on them from behind. "Sorry you don't have a gun." Valerie said to George. "Oh it's perfectly fine, I'm a doctor and frankly I'm not much of a fan of firearms... I'm also a very lousy shot." He said with a slight chuckle. "Well don't worry Mr. Doctor we'll cover you." Tyrone said and everyone seemed to circle around the unarmed man. "My heroes." He said flatly and the group continued to move along the dark hallways, until they reached a door. Jill walked over and turned the door nob and slowly opened the door and looked through. "Clear." She whispered and opened the door more for everyone to walk through. Looking around the darkness was barely fought back by the small lights that lined the walls. "Through here." Jill said walking over to the door at the end, though as they got closer they could see the hallway made a left turn and January wandered what was down that way, the sound of something being knocked to the floor in the distance told her she was better off not knowing. Jill opened the door and the other side was a more illuminated area that was easily recognized as a garage. "Score, now lets find us a ride." Tyrone said and they all looked around. "Like that?" Valerie said pointing to a large armored truck. Everyone agreed and went to the truck and Jill looked the inside over and then ran to the shutters that closed off the ramp that led to the street. "Fuck!" She yelled slamming the shutter with her boot. Everyone crowded around her. "What's wrong?" Valerie asked and Jill interlocked her fingers around the metal gaps in the shutters. "It needs power to open. And the generator is back there." She pointed to the door they had just come from. "We'll have to pass by the kennel." She said and nervous looks were shared among the group. January let out a loud groan. "Alright, sitting here isn't gonna get us out of here any faster." She said walking towards the door and several footsteps began to follow her.

They walked back to the door and just as they opened it they heard a distant bark. "Fuck, this is gonna suck." January muttered and everyone made noises of agreement. The group moved along the halls toward the generator room, passing by a room with the word Kennel on the door. "Maybe if we move very slowly we won't have an issue?" Valerie whispered. "When has that ever worked?" Tyrone whispered back and a thud came from the metal door. "See?" He said and everyone readied their weapons. "Maybe I should have waited in the car." George mumbled as another thud echoed through the halls. "Not to late to head back." Jill said and George simply hid behind her. "I prefer to stay with the people who have guns." He mumbled. A final thud and the door seemed to open slightly and a bloody, snarling snout poked out of the dented door. "Let's move it people!" Jill said and they all started running further down the hall as more barking could be heard from behind them. January stayed closer to the back of the group a feeling of fear building up as she heard the dogs start to get closer, she hated dealing with zombie dogs, they weren't like human zombies, they actually ran and she knew she couldn't outrun a dog. She dared a look over her shoulder and saw two dogs running after them gaining ground she looked forward and saw Jill who was at the front of the group stop at a door and tried to open it. "It's locked!" She yelled and January took that as a sign that it was time to stand and fight. She turned around and fired the shotgun in a quick motion. One dog seemed to take majority of the hit in its legs and it tumbled forward, the other however continued to rush forward unaffected by the shot and it jumped and landed on January biting into her arm and she let out a loud cry of pain as she fell back. "Jan!" Valerie's voice shrieked as she aimed her gun and fired. January used all her strength to hold back the dog that thrashed its head as it bit hard onto her left arm. "Get it off!" She shouted, and she could hear a few more shots before the dog finally went limp and she pushed it off of her. "Bad dog." She muttered holding her bleeding arm. "You okay!?" Valerie rushed over and looked at the other woman's arm. "I've had worse but damn." January let out a hiss of pain as she clutched it with her good arm. George walked over and looked at it. "May I?" He asked and January shrugged as she held out her arm. George gasped startling her. "You'll bleed out in minutes!" He said and January's eyes widened as did Valerie who frantically looked between the two. "I'm just kidding, but we should still bandage that up." January gave him a look best described as enraged whimsy as she couldn't help but enjoy the dark humor even in times like these, but she also thought you were supposed to trust doctors. "That's strike one." She whispered to him and he smiled as Valerie handed him some gauze and disinfectant. "And don't worry, I won't 'turn' if that's what you're worried about." George raised an eyebrow. "Really?" January nodded. "Let's just say, I took the right kind of medicine." George seemed to be relieved as well as confused wrapping up January's arm. "As long as you don't go around biting anyone." He said and January smirked. "Oh I'll bite anyone who gets too close." She said chomping her teeth at him to which he simply raised an eyebrow. There seemed to be an awkward moment where the two just stood there making eye contact but it felt like a half-assed staring contest with neither looking away.

"Ahem." They both turned towards the voice and saw Jill, who had cleared her voice as she opened the door. "Door's open." She said and the two glanced at each other before walking towards the door and into the dark generator room. Jill was first in and flipped a few switches and the lights came on. She walked over to a large breaker and with a grunt pulled a large switch and it buzzed to life. Lights in the hallway got brighter and a sense of relief washed over all of them as they left to return back to the garage. They went down the halls and January had the gun ready, her arm had a pain as she held the shotgun up, keeping an eye out for anymore of the dogs that roamed around. "How many dogs were in the kennel?" Valerie asked as the group's steps were cautious but at a steady pace. "I don't know maybe like four?" Jill answered and the group heard several barks and they all tensed. "Or maybe more." She said and Tyrone picked up the pace walking towards the front of the group. "How about we just get out of here before we find out the exact number?" He said and January liked that idea and they all started to run back. The barks echoed through the halls and it was difficult to pinpoint exactly where they were coming from.

When they entered the garage January noticed there were two dogs, and a zombie man dressed in a police uniform, they all turned towards the group and January cocked the shotgun as she walked forward. The two dogs ran towards them bark all the while and gunfire rang out as the ground near the sprinting dogs burst sending bits of rubble scattering across the ground, bullets flew forward and one dog seemed to be hit as blood shot from its side but it didn't loose its focus as it was on Valerie who continued to fire her gun shaking in her hands and January stepped forward firing into the dog as it jumped, it took the full blast of the shotgun and flew backwards as chunks of it flew everywhere. The other dog ran forward getting riddled with bullets from Jill and Tyrone and it fell as it ran tumbling forward a bit before it attempted to stand again, Tyrone took the metal pipe from George and quickly went over and slammed it against the dog's head until it stopped moving. The zombie man walked forward arms outstretched and Jill aimed her shotgun and fired into its head. It fell backwards with a hard thump and with that the garage was clear, Jill ran to the truck and opened it and after a brief moment the truck roared to life and then she climbed out and ran to the shutters, reaching into her pocket she pulled out a card and slid it along the side and after a moment the small light on the side of the card reader turned from red to green and the shutters slowly opened. "Whoo! Let's get the fuck outta here!" Jill said as she ran back to the truck where the others waited opening the back and climbing into it. January couldn't believe it she felt her heart pick up and couldn't help but smile as Tyrone held his hand out pulling her up into the back of the truck and she turned back around to look at the shutters that had just finished opening. Her smile quickly fell when she saw what was on the other side of the shutters and before she could shout out to warn Jill the loud strained voice roared. "STARSSSS!" Jill's eyes widened as she turned back to face the monster that had destroyed the tram they had taken when they fled the zoo. It lifted the rocket launcher again. "Now that's just not fair!" January said as it aimed it at the group in the truck. "What in God's name is that!?" George shouted and January wondered which would kill her getting blown up or maybe she'd crawl on the group as she writhed in pain from her missing limbs before the big asshole standing before he stomped on her skull. She hoped it would be a quick death.

There was an explosion and January squeezed her eyes shut as she half expected a searing heat to consume her and she wondered if she should drop and roll or just scream and drop to her knees in agony. "Wait are we alive?" She asked opening an eye. and she could see Jill on the ground and the tall creature in black leather it seemed to be reaching down to pick up the rocket launcher that had been knocked to the floor. "Jill! Come on!" January shouted as she felt the truck start to move and she looked back and Tyrone had taken the wheel. January lost her balance for a moment as she felt a hand grab her arm to steady her and the truck in a quick motion reversed and turned around now facing the exit and the conflict between the cop and the monster. "Hang on!" Tyrone yelled and January took a step away from the edge of the truck bed and it sped forward as it honked its horn and January felt the truck give a hard and violent shake as a loud thud came from the front. It swerved a little before moving further out of away from the garage to the road and then it screeched to a halt. January could see the monster had been knocked to the ground and it slowly began to stand up Jill had been thrown to the ground too and she stood up and ran towards the truck, when a tentacle shot out of the monster's arm and wrapped around her leg and flung her back into the garage. "Jill!" Valerie shouted as she went to Tyrone at the front of the truck. "We have to go back!" She said and Tyrone looked into the side mirror and then put the truck into reverse and it started to back up. January turned back to see Jill get to her feet and fired at the monster and then she for a moment locked eyes with January. January got a strange sense of dread from the look Jill was giving her from across the room. "What is she..?" January couldn't even finish her train of thought before Jill aimed at the truck. At least January thought she was aiming at the truck but she fired and hit the switch to the card reader and the shutters came falling down landing right on the monster, but blocking the truck's path and it screeched to a halt. "Jill!?" January shouted and Jill started to walk towards the door leading to the main hall. "That thing's after me! You'll be fine just go, get out of the city!" She said taking a few more shots at the monster that pushed itself forward and the shutters slammed shut as it pulled itself free. "Wait we can't just leave you!" Valerie cried out and Jill gave a salute and then ran off through the door and the monster rushed after her. "I don't think we have a choice." George said as Valerie jumped out and tried to lift the shutter but it didn't even budge. "Val, I don't think we can do anything, we need to get out of here." January said and she jumped down and put a hand on Valerie's shoulder. "Besides, she can handle it. Pretty sure anyway." She said and led Valerie back to the truck. "Are we really just leaving?" Tyrone asked as January and Valerie hopped back into the truck. "Unless you can get that thing open then there's nothin we can do." January said as she closed the doors to the truck and everyone grew quiet as they started to speed off. 

January let out a sigh as they drove all along into the night watching Valerie looked at her hands as she rubbed them nervously. "Hey you should get some sleep." She said and Valerie glanced up at her. "Sorry I'm not tired, You can sleep." She said and January let out another sigh. "Funny, I would but I'm not tired either." She said and they rode on in more silence. George didn't seem to mind and his light snoring was the only noise aside from the sound of the engine and the occasional bump in the road. "You guys doing okay back there?" Tyrone asked and January let out a groan. "Oh ow, I'm dead, avenge me..." She said and Valerie put on a sad smile and Tyrone let out a loud sigh. They rode on in more silence. "I miss the others." Valerie said and January frowned. "Yeah. Me too." January thought back to how she reacted to being left behind, she knew it had to be a mistake, that Martin wouldn't leave them behind on purpose. "What do you think they're doing right now?" Valerie asked and January let out a groan. "Knowing Samuel and Martin? Probably each other." She said and Valerie gave a snort. "Becca and Kelly probably have to keep those two on track." She said with still with her sad smile.

They continued on, every attempt to make small talk ended after only a few words. January felt a pang of guilt as she thought back to how she blamed Martin, then Jill. She liked it better when she didn't have to worry about others especially when they come into her life and leave without her permission. She didn't know Jill to well but she figured anyone who knew who the bad guy was could be someone who you could rely on, and Kelly wasn't much but she still helped them out and probably just wanted to get out of the city the same as the rest of them. But Sam, Martin and Becca? She missed them, they had been stuck in the Umbrella testing facility together for two months and even though she tried to avoid making friends with anyone, the last six survivors always had each others' backs. She thought back to when they first started to talk to her and she actually talked back.

It was in common room of the their prison, January sat at the table chewing on the gruel they had been served desperately wishing that if she chewed it long enough it would form some kind of positive flavor, but to no avail. "E-excuse me?" She turned her head to the meek voice and saw a girl who's hair was braided over her shoulder and yellow hoodie and jeans made up her outfit and January lifted an eyebrow. "A few of us were going to play a game of poker, we don't have anything to bet but if you want you can join." She said and January looked past her to the group that seemed to be watching her. She had been stuck in here for nearly two weeks and after watching several people get butchered she had moved past getting to know anyone, but she was also dying of boredom, without anything to do other than eat the same scheduled meals, her life had become painfully repetitive and she decided that for once she'd change it up. "Sure." She said and got up and walked over to the group, it had a woman who had pretty blonde hair with her shirt tied around her belly, a jock with a pretty boy face and nicely combed hair, a black guy in running shorts and a green shirt, and scrawny kid with curly black hair and a backpack. "Hey there glad you could join us, name's Tyrone, you?" The black guy said and January gave a huff. "January, don't worry ya don't have to remember it." She said as she was dealt her cards. "Well January, it's nice to meetcha." The blonde woman said as she shuffled the cards. "And don't worry I'm sure we'll remember your name for awhile." She said and January grabbed her cards. "I doubt that." She mumbled wondering how long before they'd end up dead, or she would for that matter.

Sunlight filtered in through the small window in the back of truck and landed right on January's face, she wasn't even aware she had fallen asleep as her eyes began to flutter open. "Are you awake? Good." She heard that George guy's voice say something and she sat up looking around. "Where are we?" She asked rubbing her eyes awake. The double doors to the back of the truck opened up and Tyrone stood there, his face had just the faintest traces of sadness. Though the sunlight behind him made it hard to make it out at all. "Morning, everyone well rested?" He asked and January looked around Valerie who was on the floor was huddled into her hoodie using her backpack as a pillow and slowly shifted to life. "What's going on..?" She mumbled and sat up, adjusting her glasses. "We need to figure out a plan, some way we can get out of here." He said as he climbed in and took a seat next to January who scooted away from him a little. "If I may?" George spoke up and all eyes were on him. "No bad ideas, man go ahead, speak up." Tyrone said and January wanted to argue but then she'd probably have to come up with a plan which she felt it was too early in the morning to try that. "When I was at the police station, I came across several notes and letters." He held out a sheet of paper. "I assume they are from citizens hoping to find some way to contact loved ones through I suspect that is little more than wishful thinking." January reached over and took the paper from George she then read aloud. "Dear George." She glanced up at the doctor before she continued reading. "I have vital information about the current city crisis that only you will understand, I'll be waiting at the University. Find the red counterpart to the blue and you will find me. Peter Jenkins." There was a silence before January handed the paper back and sat back getting more comfortable. "Who's Peter Jenkins?" She asked and George tucked the paper away. "An old friend from college, we haven't spoken in some time but for some reason he left me that note at the police station, the fact that I found it was little more than chance." He said and there was another silence. "So what's waiting for us at the University?" Tyrone asked almost afraid of the answer George shook his head. "I don't know, maybe there's a way to escape the city." He said somewhat optimistic, Valerie cleared her throat and they all looked at her. "Raccoon University, They have a lot of secrets. They work with Umbrella. They sent me to that place." She said bitterly and now everyone was on edge. "I'm afraid that could be true." George said. "When we we parted ways I became a surgeon, where Peter started to work for Umbrella, but I'm afraid I don't understand where did they send you?" He asked and January glanced around before she leaned toward Tyrone. "Did we forget to tell him?"

After explaining their unique two months trapped in a lab fighting monsters and being injected with a strange virus that although made them immune to turning into undead when they were bit, the full extent of what it was doing to their bodies was unknown and frankly saying it out loud unsettled January. "Are you serious?" George asked and Tyrone nodded. "Yeah." He started. "Very well." George said and Tyrone seemed a little thrown off by the sudden acceptance of their story. "Wait that's it?" He asked and George nodded. "The proof is right in front of me." He gestured to January. "I was at the hospital when the first instances of the virus were reported, I have seen people turn in varying time limits, depending in the amount of exposure and infection. The more bites, the less time it takes to turn. You were bit a few hours ago and yet you have no symptoms." He said and everyone looked at each other. "Could have just said the last part but okay whatever." January mumbled.

They all sat there not saying much as far as what their plan actually was. Tyrone scratched the back of his head. "So Umbrella is at the University huh?" Tyrone said. "But what else is there? Anything worth it?" January asked and Valerie let out a sigh. "There is a pier... Maybe a boat can take us out of here." She said and now there was another silence. January hated boats, but she hated being in this shitty zombie filled city even more. "What if we... Just go there and grab a boat and get on the fuck out of there?" January said and everyone seemed to consider her plan. "If we run into Peter, do you mind if we bring him along?" George asked and January looked at Tyrone. "I don't care as long as he doesn't get one of us killed." She said bitterly and Tyrone let out a breath and January glanced at him ready in case he had more to say to her. "If we go back there..." Valerie started. "We have to be careful, they watched everything. But I think we can get to a boat if we go around to the back of the University." She said and January stood up. "Good enough for me, let's go to school." She said before she sat back down. "Tyrone, you drive."

They started the truck and following Valerie and George's directions went in the direction of Raccoon University. Along the way January rubbed her stomach. "Man, I'm hungry." She said and Valerie nodded. "I want another burger." She said and January imagined a juicy burger, then she imagined a fat steak, then an entire buffet. "Tyrone!" She called to the front of the truck. "Yeah!?" He shouted back. "Can we stop somewhere to eat?" She waited for a reply. "What do you guys want? Keep it cheap I only got like four bucks!" He said and January rolled her eyes. "Hang on, anyone know how to work a fryer?" Tyrone asked as January felt the truck start to slow. "Do I look like I know how to work a fryer?" She shouted and George crossed his arms. "Well..." He started and January pointed at him. "Strike two." She said and Valerie let out a giggle as the truck came to a stop. January opened the back of the truck and they found themselves outside a fast food place that January usual would visit when she was too lazy to make her own food, or she was too broke to buy something good.

Working a fryer wasn't as hard as January thought especially since Tyrone had worked one before, and also did most of the work. "Found the fries." Valerie said as she brought over a bag of frozen fries from the freezer along with some burger patties and onion rings. January watched as Tyrone poured a gallon of oil into the fryer and after a moment put the fries into a tray and put them into the oil and they sizzled and he turned towards the large oven. "One of you guys wanna throw on some of those patties into the oven?" He asked and Valerie went over to the oven, January looked around and decided she wasn't really needed and wandered into the dining area where George was.

Walking into the dining area January could see out the large windows into the dark streets. George was sitting at the table closest to the kitchen staring out the window, The seat in front of him was empty along well they were all empty so she decided to sit across from him, catching his attention as she flopped into the seat. "So Mr. Doctor how ya doin? Anything on your mind?" she asked, mostly to kill the silence not really to have a conversation. George placed his hands on the table interlocking his fingers. "Oh as good as anyone can be in a zombie infested city." He said with a calm smile. "How about yourself?" He asked and January scoffed. "Another day in paradise." She said as she propped her head on her hand setting her elbow on the table with a sigh. There was an awkward silence as they sat there and after a moment George cleared his throat. "May I ask a question?" January glanced at him. "Go ahead." George was silent for a moment bringing his hands to his chin. "You three said you were fighting these monsters for a while now, what would you say our odds of actually getting out of here are?" He asked and he turned his gaze out the window towards the ruined street. January followed his gaze and looked for whatever was out there. "I'm not really the one you want to ask, our little marry band likes to think of me as a bit of a pessimist." She said and George glanced at her. "And what would you call yourself?" He asked and January let out a laugh. "I like to think of myself as a professional asshole." George let out a chuckle before January continued. "But I'm surprised we even got this far, I thought we'd be dead six times over." She said and she watched as a single zombie stumbled onto the street before tripping on something and just stayed on the ground. "I feel ya." She thought as she looked back to the kitchen. "Well. I'm a surgeon." George said and January looked at him. "Yeah I gathered." She said and George ignored her. "I have to work no matter the odds of survival. And of course I'm not perfect, I've lost patients." He had a slightly gloomy expression but it was quickly replaced by his regular calm one. "When I was younger and much more dramatic, I bragged that I fought death everyday. But I've never been forced to face my own mortality before and to be honest, I'm a little frightened." He said and January bet that if he wasn't a surgeon his hands would be shaking. Hers were when she realized she could die from the monsters she faced. "Well you seem to be doing fine so far." January said, George raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" He asked and January slouched a little in her seat. "Yup, I mean you'd be a zombie if you weren't right?" George let out a sigh. "That's a very good point."

Tyrone and Valerie came out of the kitchen area with a tray of burgers and fries. "Hey guys, food's ready." Tyrone said as he placed a tray with a few burgers and a lot of fries in the center of the table and January helped Valerie move one of the table closer and the two cooks sat with the others. "Thanks for cooking guys, I hate kitchens." January said as she grabbed one of the burgers on the top of the pile of food, it was fast food and didn't seem to be anywhere near the food they had gotten from Jack's bar, but at this point she was just glad they had something to eat. She bit into the burger it wasn't anything special, some pickles and ketchup a little bit of mustard, she then grabbed some fries and tried them, it was a little too salty but she liked it regardless. "Pretty good, you work fast food before?" She asked and Tyrone nodded. "Yeah when I was in high school, good to know I still remember how to do this shit." He said as he bit into the burger and she noticed there were three extra burgers wrapped in the to go papers. "Those for later?" She asked and Tyrone looked at the burgers that sat there. "In case we run into the others." He said and a silence fell over them. "The others?" George asked and they all looked at him. "Ah the three you mentioned earlier, the ones who helped you escape the facility." He said and Valerie reached for a few more fries. "Yeah they were some of our heavy hitters." She said and January had to agree remembering how Sam crushed a zombie with a sledgehammer, Becca's marksmanship. "Except Martin, but he was scrappy, he would bob and weave all around and set his little traps." Valerie said and January scoffed. "More like he ran around like a chicken with his head cut off." She said remembering how he'd run around from room to room in a panic. "Yeah but he always had a plan, even if it was more of an escape plan." Valerie said and there was another moment of silence. "Still pissed at him?" Tyrone asked not looking up from his food. January didn't look at him. "I'm always pissed... But no I get that it was probably an accident or something." She said irritated. Tyrone seemed to relax a little. "Still gonna kick his ass once we find him. He and Sam owe me." She said as she took another bite. "Owe you? for what?" Tyrone asked and January waved her hand dismissively. "Some crap, not important." She said as she started eating again taking enough bites to stop talking. "Those two making me keep secrets and shit." She thought before she let out a sigh. "They better be alright."

They finished eating and then shuffled into the back of the truck. Whatever leftovers that weren't dripping too much grease was wrapped up and put in Valerie's bag, and in time they were on the move again. January sat up front with Tyrone who was the driver once again, she thought it would be an awkward drive with the tension from earlier and at first she was right, they sat in silence as they drove and any attempt at conversation usually only lasted a sentence. Tyrone tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "I spy with my little eye..." January rolled her entire head along with her eyes as she looked towards the driver. "Don't do it... You're better than that." She whispered to him and he smiled. "Something... Red." He said and January glanced around. "Blood smear?" "Ding ding." January looked around and let out a sigh. "I spy with my pink eye." She looked around focusing on the something in the distance. "Something-" She smiled as she sat up to get a better look. "Something stupid." She said and Tyrone had a confused look on his face, then he noticed what she was probably talking about. "A zombie in a raccoon costume?" He said as they drove past the toy store and a man in a raccoon mascot costume shuffle his feet towards the street. "Poor bastard. Forced to walk the earth in a raccoon costume as an undead minion of science." Tyrone said and January watched as they drove right past him, and continued to watch him in the rear view mirror. "I feel sorry for anyone he eats, can you imagine that being the last thing you see?" She said and Tyrone let out a laugh. "How'd he die? Oh some raccoon motherfucker ate him, haha!" Tyrone said and they both shared a laugh.

Driving along pointing out anything of interest, some were stupid like the raccoon guy, and other things like the tragic sight of a beautiful sports car crashed into a light pole. The drive was steady and January sighed as she looked out the window spotting a naked zombie woman covered in bite marks. "Man that must've sucked." She said pointing it out. "You think she got attacked in the shower?" Tyrone said averting his gaze after he got a glimpse. "Or during sex? Either way, that's some shitty luck." January said and then she looked forward at the street. "We're almost there." Tyrone said and January start to grow anxious, they turned several corners until they pulled up to a large metal gate. "I have a bad feeling about this." January said as the truck stopped.

Everyone climbed out and went to the large gate. "If we back the truck to the gate we can use it to climb over." George said and January clicked her teeth. "But we'd loose the truck." She said. "If there isn't a boat then..." Valerie said her voice filled with unease. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea." She said and January gave her a light slap on the back. "Little late, we're already here." She said and pushed Valerie out of the way. "Tyrone move this sucker, I'm sure we can find a way back out here if we need the truck again." She wasn't sure actually but she was hoping this blind faith would pay off, she stood over next to George who was looking at the main building. "What's up?" She asked as he seemed almost transfixed on the main hall. "Just wondering when that broke." He pointed towards the large window on the second floor, it used to be a stain glass window the edges still had some glass and January wondered if it had some kind of picture or if it was just random colors. "It was always an ugly window." He said and turned back to the others. "And in the early morning the light would shine through and blind me anytime I tried to get through that stupid main hall." He said and January looked at the window. "Yeah good riddance to ugly windows." She said and turned back to see Tyrone parking the truck. "Okay people let's go." He said hopping out of it and one by one they climbed the front and onto the top and now January could see she was able to jump over the gate now the drop on the other side wasn't too far and she climbed over holding onto the gate and hanging as low as she could and then dropped with a thud a dull throb shot through her feet. "Did you die Jan?" Valerie called down and January looked up. "Yup, oh God, the pain ooooh ow." She said flatly before she looked around, she was in a parking lot a few cars were resting never to start again. A semi truck was parked next to some construction equipment, she could see a catwalk with a ladder leading up to the top. "Hey Jan." Tyrone called to her and passed the guns through the bars of the gate.

Valerie jumped down and then George who fell back onto his butt. "Easy there, doc." January said as she held her hand out for him to take, and she helped him up to his feet. "Thanks, I haven't jumped a fence in a very long time." He said and January raised an eyebrow. "Which was when?" She asked and George shook his head. "Once on a dare in middle school." He said and January scoffed. Tyrone was the last to hop down and they all looked around, the parking lot had several cars, a metal door that led to an alleyway and the other to the University. "The pier is through there." Valerie said pointing to the door next to another gate. "That's the employee parking lot right?" George asked. "Unless they changed it since I was last here." He muttered and Valerie nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure." She walked towards the front of the group and reached for the metal doorknob. She opened it and on the other side was something that chilled January to the bone.

Several armed men lay dead on the ground, the smell of blood hung heavy in the air as most had massive claw marks in them, a man with several puncture wounds through his torso was leaning up against a semi truck and January looked around. "Holy shit." She muttered there must have been at least seven men, all dead, killed in similarly violent ways. "Maybe we should turn back." Valerie said and then something caught her eye, to their left was the University itself, to the right was a small building and a small gate with bars wide enough to see that on the other side it was leading to a stairway going down to somewhere and across the parking lot was a wide open sky. She walked around the bloody mess of the men who looked almost like military but something was off about their uniforms, but she ignored them and went to the edge of the parking lot, a tall guard rail met her at the edge and she looked out over the pier far down below as if she were on a man made cliff, the morning sun glistening off of the still water and along with it was a boat sitting down along the edge of the docks. January let out a breath as she looked out across the water. "Guys we're so close!" She said and then she turned and saw the others were all looking at the corpses. "Guys?" She walked back over. "What's up?" She asked setting down her shotgun next to the corpse as she crouched down next to Tyrone who was kneeling next to a dead man pointed down at the body. "Look, they work for Umbrella." He said pointing to the man who was faced down, on his back was a small Umbrella logo. "Man and something fucked these guys up." January reached down and picked up his gun, it was a sub machine gun, but it seemed out of ammo. "Yeah I'd hate to see whatever did-" The sound of gunfire cut off whatever Tyrone was about to say, they were distant shots and it sounded like it was coming from the pier. "Maybe one these guys is still kicking." January said as Tyrone stood up and made his way over to the over look. January followed and they looked down to where the gunshots were coming from.

For the second time in only a few minutes January thought she was going to piss herself. Down along the wooden docks was a tall man or creature, it was maybe about eight or nine feet tall, it's skin was dark and yet pale, maybe whoever it used to be was a black man, although now it was just some mutated monster, though it looked human at first glance, with a human face, bald head and well built torso, but that was where the human similarities ended. With large claws at the end of its large hands at the end of the long arms. January almost laughed at the black speedo like underwear it was wearing, but what she wasn't laughing at was the scene before her.

There was Becca, in her flannel and shorts, blonde hair twisting in the wind. She was on one knee with an assault rifle in her arms, shooting at the tall man-monster, with what looked like sharks circling in the water around her. "Becca!?" Tyrone shouted though they doubted Becca could hear them and January felt her heart stop as the tall monster rushed towards her seemingly unaffected by her shots, it raised its claws and swung them forward. Becca barely avoided a being impaled as she fell to the side, the monster tuned its head towards her and Becca rushed away as she scrambled to her feet. January let out a scream as she heard Tyrone do the same. "BECCA!" They called out but Becca either didn't notice or she didn't acknowledge them, she probably had more important things to do, like avoid getting shanked by five claws that were easily a foot long. Becca sprinted down the docks towards a door that led to what looked like a garage for boats as there was a ramp that led into the water next to a large door that had its shutters lowered. "Run Becca!" Valerie called and Becca did just that even if she didn't hear her. Becca ran to the door taking one last look at the tall monstrosity following her and went through the door out of sight. The monster following her taking long strides before it reached down and tore the door from the wall and tossed it into the water then it walked in after Becca. "I'm guessing that creature is what killed those men." George said and Tyrone looked around frantically before spotting the gate that led to the stairs. "Where does that go?" He asked as he rushed over to the door and gripped the doorknob. "Shit! It won't open!" He growled as he took a step back and kicking at the gate, a metal echo rang out. "There's gotta be a key in the faculty office or something!" Valerie said as she pointed towards the University. "That woman went into the boating garage, we can take the elevator inside to get there!" George said as everyone started to rush to the University and the two large wooden doors that led inside.

Tyrone reached the door first and practically kicked it down. The inside was a dull gray hallway with several boxes and crates in a small fenced off area. "If Becca is here do you think the others are too?" Valerie asked. January hadn't even made that connection. "They gotta be! Sam, Martin, and... Uh... Kelly that's her name!" She said as they moved in down the halls running past more crap that you would probably find in the back of a cargo area. "Through there!" George said pointing towards a nearby door. They raced through and found themselves in a large room with light pouring in through a large broken window on a second floor balcony. "Wait are we..?" January looked at the broken stain glass window. "In the main hall yes." George said as he looked around. "It's almost as if it hasn't changed at all." He whispered. Valerie seemed to be hugging herself tightly. "Yeah, no kidding." She mumbled and they started to move in. "Come on, this way." George said as he took the lead with a quickened step, and he led them behind the grand double staircase in the center of the room. January followed her gaze drifting around. She thought about attending college but a more convenient opportunity made the idea kind of pointless. Then something caught her eye. A gaudy looking moose head mounted on the wall, but what really interested her was the shining blue object in the eye socket. "Hey Doc." She called out catching everyone's attention. "Didn't that note say something about that?" She pointed to the moose and George walked over with a raised eyebrow. "The... Moose head?" He asked getting closer and January sighed. "No, the eye. Look." She pointed more towards the eye of the moose. "The red counterpart or something right?" She asked and George looked at the moose head more intently now and then moved to the other side. "The socket is empty." He said and January felt like she had solved the puzzle. "But what? Are we supposed to put something in there?" Valerie asked and January frown as her previous sense of accomplishment faded, she had just found the problem, she didn't solve it.

Tyrone groaned as he took a few steps forward. "Come on we don't have time for this! You saw that thing chasing Becca!" He yelled and began walking in the direction George was leading them earlier. "He's right, Becca's a good shot but she can't make bullets. We gotta hurry before she runs out of ammo." Valerie said and she led the way to a door at the far end of the room. The plate mounted on the wall read security in small letters. "Through here right?" She called out and George looked at them. "Yes there should be an elevator through there." He called out before returning his attention on the moose head. "Got it!" Tyrone said rushing off with Valerie in tow. "So your buddy is a taxidermist?" January said with a smile as she glanced over to George who put on a wry smile. "Lord I hope not. I think I remember there being a red eye in that horrid looking wall ornament." He said and January crossed her arms. "You can just call it an ugly decoration." She said flatly before she walked over to the other side of the moose noticing the empty socket. "Well whatever, lets go catch up with the others." January said as she started to walk towards the door Tyrone and Valerie had disappeared behind.

As January reached for the door, it swung open and slammed into the wall slightly startling January. "Whoa easy there, almost took me out with the-" She stopped when she saw Valerie who had thrown the door open staring at her wide eyed. "It's bad!" She said and January didn't like the sound of that and rushed into the security room, past Valerie. Inside was a very small security office that had a small set of lockers in the back right next to an elevator. January looked around Tyrone was standing next to a set of monitors sitting on the desk. "What, does the elevator not-" She stopped talking as she got closer and noticed what Tyrone was so focused on. On each of the monitors was a video feed most had nothing of interest, except for two with movement on it. January stared wide eyed at the familiar figures on both of them. "Holy shit..." She muttered as her heart pounded even more than before.

Sam was on one of the screens labeled B3F, he was running on a walkway surrounded by water away from some strange creature that looked like a frog but stood on its hind legs, each limb was scrawny but in a strange amphibian way, where they still seemed to easily support the large head and gut of the strange looking mutant frog. But what was most concerning was that there were several of them and where ever Sam was had lots of water where they seemed to glide through with ease. Sam rushed forward and slammed into one of the frogs in front of him, it fell hard onto its back before it almost immediately hopped back to its feet and in a quick motion slapped Sam hard knocking him to the floor, it was almost comical but January was to worried for Sam to find any humor in it. Sam likewise jumped to his feet and gave the monster an uppercut, it stumbled back and Sam sprinted forward again flipping off the frog as he ran out of the camera's line of sight.

January was almost afraid to but she looked at the other screen and spotted Martin in a room labeled Emissions Tower. He was holding his backpack in front of him, almost like a shield when something quickly darted at him hitting his bag. It looked like a very large bee, or more of a wasp or knowing Umbrella some kind of mix of the two. It stuck its stinger into Martin's bag and he seemed to have some kind of bat and swatted it to the ground before giving it a hard stomp and it lay there writhing in pain. Martin's head turned upward as if he were looking at something off screen. "C-come on!" His voice had a static sound to it as it came through the speaker. January felt her chest hurt as she recognized Martin's voice, the same voice he had when he was scared but didn't try to show it. Another wasp darted at him this time he let out a cry of pain and dropped his bag as the wasp clung to his left arm for a moment then flew away, Martin clutched his arm as he looked around grabbing his bag with his good arm before fleeing off screen as well.

And then the monitors all shut off, startling all of them. "What the fuck?" January asked looking around. "What happened!?" Tyrone called out as he looked over the monitors trying to turn them on. "Guys." Valerie spoke her voice quivering, they looked at her and she pointed towards a camera in the corner of the room, a small red light blinking away. "We're being watched." Tyrone said and January looked around. "Where's George?" She asked noticing the doctor had vanished. "This is not good." Valerie shuddered and January had to agree her eyes wandered over the desk and she spotted a folded paper, she snatched it up and looked it over, blueprints or maybe a very detailed map of the University. with several basement floor levels. "Hey come on guys!" Tyrone said his loud voice booming as he walked over to the camera and he aimed his handgun at it and fired, the shot rang out as the camera was destroyed. "Plans have changed." He said walking past the group to the elevator and turned towards the girls. "This just turned into a rescue mission, got it?" He sounded pissed. "But we don't even know where to find them!" Valerie said and she brought her hand to her mouth she seemed to be on the verge of tears. "And Becca's still running from that thing." She said and January let out a sigh. "What do we do?" She asked not expecting an answer. "We could split up." Tyrone said quietly catching both of their attentions. "What? Are you crazy?" January asked. "We'll get ourselves killed wandering around alone." She said and Tyrone pressed the elevator button. "And would you rather we just let the others die!?" He shouted and January flinched. "Of course not!" She yelled back. "But we need a plan!" The elevator doors opened and the three looked into the empty space before them. "We know Sam is somewhere called B3F... Maybe Basement third floor?" Valerie said and she walked into the elevator. "Right here." She pointed towards one of the buttons. "I'm with Tyrone." She said and she locked eyes with January. "If we just let them die then... Well what was the point in leaving the lab together in the first place?" She said and January groaned. "Okay... You guys go down there. I'll look for this Emissions Tower." She said looking over the map she found. "Hey Tyrone." She held up the map for him to look at. "Basement second floor leads to the docks. I'd check there for Becca." She said and Tyrone nodded. There was a moment of silence as they all stood there. Tyrone in the doorway of the elevator Valerie behind him and January walked back to the door leading to the main hall. "The map says my best shot is through the parking lot..." She made sure her worry didn't come through into her voice. "We're really splitting up huh?" Valerie asked and Tyrone looked over his shoulder to her. "Only for a little bit. Let's meet up in the main hall alright?" He asked and Valerie nodded her face more resolute than before. "Yeah, you two better be careful you got that?" Janaury said and Tyrone stepped into the elevator and it slowly closed as he pressed a button. "Same to you girl." He managed to say before the doors closed and January could hear the motors running from behind the door. And just like that she was alone. "Right... Where the fuck did George go?" She asked and walked back into the main hall.

She walked quickly finding the room much more unsettling now that she was alone in it. She walked forward and wanted to let out a causal whistle but she felt the situation might not have called for it, when the door on the opposite end of the room opened and George was standing there. "George! The fuck dude?" January said as she walked forward throwing her arms up. George seemed preoccupied with something else as he walked forward. "Ah hello January, where did the other two go?" He asked and January let out a sigh. "We split up to look for clues, or something like that, where were you?" She asked as she walked forward and then noticed something in George's hand. "Whatcha got there?" She asked seeing something catch the sunlight through the window and it glimmered a blue shine. "Ah this?" He held up a small blue gem. "I went looking for this little gem." He smiled at his little joke but January wasn't gonna give him the satisfaction of a reaction. "What is that George?" She said flatly. George who was walking past her to the back of the stairs. "It's the other eye." He said as he walked up to the moose head. "Peter mentioned blue and red counterparts or some such nonsense, so I figure we might as well try it." He said as January followed him. "I really don't think now is the time to worry about a moose." She said and George reached up and placed the gem in the empty eye socket.

A moment of silence before George let out a sigh. "I'm not sure what I expected." He said as he walked over to January who rested the shotgun on her shoulder. "Cool, since you're free you can help me find my friends before they die horrible deaths-" Suddenly the wall behind them on the staircase slid down startling January, George however seemed unfazed. "Hmm that's interesting." He said as he walked towards the newly revealed hidden passageway. "Why can't this city just be known for its pizza like New York or something?" January said as she followed. "No it's gotta be somethin stupid like secret passageways and drugs used to make stupid monsters." She grumbled.

The newly opened door led to another set of stairs that led down into a room with bookshelves lining every wall, save for a single desk with someone slumped forward at the far end of the room. George slowly walked into the room the only source of light coming from a lamp on the desk. January couldn't see his face but she expected he was still wearing his calm look, at least until he ran to the desk. "Peter!?" He called out and January ran forward too. The man slumped over the desk was wearing a lab coat, his wiry hair stained red as there was a puddle of blood pooled under his head, a set of broken glasses sat next to the dead man, January readied her shotgun in case he got back up, though she expected whatever killed him damaged his brain enough to keep him from turning.

"Someone's not having a good day." She mumbled as she walked closer and George looked down bringing a hand to his face. "I'm sorry, Peter... If I had come sooner..?" He was mumbling and then looked up at the body. "There are no bites... Does that mean he was killed by a human?" He asked and January walked closer. "Maybe? Don't forget we saw that tall bastard outside." She said looking over the corpse then she looked at the papers on the desk. And something caught her eye. "Hello there..." She reached forward and grabbed one of the papers that was on the edge of the blood puddle. She began reading the paper out loud. "George." She started catching the doctor's attention. "I'm a dead man. Hurry and make the reagent, then get the Hell out of Raccoon." She finished and George brought a hand to his chin in thought, January flipped the paper over and there was something written on the back. "Collect the three ingredients and put them in the Incubator then..." She shook her head. "The rest is covered in blood, I can't read it." She said and looked over the desk again and opened one of the drawers. "Jackpot." She said finding another paper with important looking words on it. "Reagent Generation memo." Giving the paper a quick look over she frowned. "P-Base, V-Poison, T-Blood? What are these? Ingredients?" She asked as George finally tore his gaze away from his dead friend and took the paper from January, looking it over. "The machine will automatically mix the ingredients...P-Base can be located in basement tank, keep in airtight seal or it will dissolve." January perked up at that. "Hey Valerie and Tyrone are heading to the basement." She said. "Oh perhaps we could ask them to grab this if they are not too busy." George said as he looked the paper over. January let out a snort. "Oh yeah, let me get right on that." She brought her hand to her head mimicking a phone. "Hey Val, listen I know you're busy saving our friends and all but if you could pick up some gross medicine or drugs or whatever the hell these are, that'd be swell thanks." She said and then started walking back towards the stairs as George looked the paper over more. "January.." George said. "What?" She asked annoyed as she kept walking. "This is a cure." That made her stop in her tracks. "A cure? For what?" She asked looking over her shoulder. "For whatever is happening to the city." He said walking forward pointing at something on the paper. "The Reagent will eliminate any trace of the Tyrant virus in the body, and can prove lethal to any infected creature born from it." He said and January thought for a minute. "So if we make that Reagent then we can actually cure this?" She asked and George looked the paper over. "I believe so... And I think I can inform everyone about this too." He said as he rushed out of the room and January rushed to follow him. "Where are you going?" She asked and George looked over his shoulder as they walked up the stairs. "There is an intercom in the third floor lab, we can use it to tell the others to acquire the ingredients." January slowed for a second. "I gotta go find Martin in the Emission Tower, You head up there and tell the others." She said as she started to head the opposite direction as him, he walked towards the security room where the elevator was. "Alright, stay safe." George said as he ran off. January ran the other direction. "Same to you doc!" She called out.

January ran back through the room they entered from the parking lot. Opening the door she was met with a dull sky as the morning sun was on the opposite side of the University, normally this was her favorite time of day. There wasn't very many people out and about and the sun would stay out of her face. But she didn't have time to enjoy the atmosphere, she wasted enough time in fact. She ran across the parking lot to the building from earlier and she noticed the door had an electronic lock on it. "This won't keep me out, asshole!" She said as she pulled out her hacking device and held it to the lock and after a moment it unlocked. She threw the door open and rushed in.

The room was a small dim room with a few cabinets filled with drugs and medicine a hazmat suit hung up on the wall. A single door at the other end of the room, and January ran towards it. As she got closer she heard something that sounded like an alarm on the other side of the door. She inhaled and opened the door and looked around, her stomach turned at the sight of something slimy on the wall. She closed the door and took another few breaths and checked to make sure she had spare ammo. "Okay..." She opened the door and raised the shotgun scanning the area for anything dangerous. The walls were covered in something brown and slimy and for a moment January worried she'd wandered into a sewer, but as she got closer she noticed that it wasn't waste as she feared but it was some kind of wax. Something clicked and January aimed her shotgun in the direction of the noise. After a few seconds something crawled out of a tunnel in the wax. It was a large hornet, easily the size of a large cat. January watched in horror as it looked around its antenna scanning around before it started to buzz its wings. "Not on my watch bitch!" January said as she fired and the bug flew bag scattering to bits. More buzzing instantly filled the room. "Uh oh." She scanned the room for her exit and spotted a large cargo elevator and she ran towards it. She pressed the button on the elevator and the large door opened and she stepped in, she then turned to the controls and pressed another button, the door closed and slowly started to descend. More buzzing could be heard overhead and January crouched down looking up she saw that there was no roof to this elevator. "Stupid bugs!" She said as she watched two more wasps flying over head getting closer to her, they flew through the air focusing on her, flying to the side while still facing her. She pointed her gun at one and fired. The shot seemed to throw it from its course and it fell to the elevator floor hard, writhing a little before crawling back to its feet, January rushed over and stomped her boot down hard onto its head, hearing a crunch as bug blood squirted out. She looked up as the other wasp flew closer. "What, do you want some too!?" She said as she raised her shotgun getting ready to fire. But something heavy knocked into her back throwing her forward to the ground, the shotgun slid away from her. She reached over her shoulder and grabbed something that let out a clicking noise. "Ew! Asshole!" She yelled and in a quick motion she threw it forward slamming it into the ground, the wasp in her hand had its head held tight in her grip and she could see it move its body, its stinger moving around in attempt to stab her. She brought up her other hand and slammed it hard onto the wasps head. it wasn't as effective as when she stomped so she raised her fist again and with grunt she slammed her balled up fist down in a hammer like fashion and although it wasn't as messy as before it did stop moving. She crawled forward and grabbed her shotgun before getting back to her feet. "Come on assholes! I can do this all day!"

The door to the elevator opened up and January rushed out not really looking to test what she just said. Quickly looking around the room she recognized the scenery as the same area Martin was in the security footage, she even saw the dead wasp he had killed. "Hang on Marty! I'm coming!" She said as she rushed towards the door he must've gone through as it was the only thing in the direction he had ran in the footage. Hearing more buzzing above her she felt her hair shift a little as she heard the buzzing of one of the wasps rush past her and then she heard a crash and figured the bug must've slammed into something when it missed her. She ran to the door and practically slammed into it throwing it open and rushing through and slamming it shut behind her, there were several thuds before the buzzing stopped and she figured they went off to do whatever they do when they weren't bothering her. She took a breath and looked around. She was in a short hallway with walls that were a dull gray, pipes that were leaking steam covered the wall. She walked forward looking around when she spotted a laddering leading down. "Who was the asshole who made this place?" She asked no one and went to climb down. About half way down she noticed it led to another hallway that split into a T shape and she wondered which way Martin went as she got off the ladder.

She continued her way down looking for any sign of the young mechanic. There was a door on her right with a large window looking into the room, there was a single zombie inside staring at the wall, not noticing her and she assumed Martin hadn't been in there and she moved forward to the split at the end. To her left was a hallway with a door at the end, and to her right was another hallway with a similar door and a vent with the cover taken off. January raised an eyebrow as she moved towards the right hallway. Reaching the vent she saw something that brought a smile to her face. There on the ground was a familiar device, the same mine Martin made in his spare time though this one seemed to be used up. "Martin!" January called out her voice echoing though out the halls. After a moment of silence she Shouted again. "Martin!" She listened before she went for the door and turned the knob, but as soon as she did the door swung open with great force and January stumbled back, A woman in a lab coat and short brown hair that was falling out of a ponytail and over her face, she looked at her before snarling, blood covered her mouth and January tried to raise the shotgun but the zombie rushed forward and grabbed her, the shotgun was caught in between the dead woman and the struggling blonde. "Get off me bitch! I don't swing that way!" She grunted as she tried to free herself from the zombie's grasp before a sickening thud could be heard and the zombie seemed stunned for a moment before another thud resounded out and the zombie went limp and January pushed her away and she fell limply to the floor. She realized someone had saved her and slowly her gaze drifted to the door where the zombie had come from, there stood a familiar blue shirted scrawny kid with curly black hair, in his right hand was a bloody monkey wrench, his left arm was swollen and had large bright red spot on the forearm. "Jan?" Martin mumbled, his face was sweaty and he looked like he was about to hurl or maybe he just did. "You're really here right? This isn't some hallucination?" He asked and January simply walked forward and gave him a hug. It only lasted a second before she pulled away leaving Martin even more confused than before. "Yup it's just me, your imaginary friend." She said sarcastically and Martin moved forward giving her a hug back, but only with his right arm, the left stay limp at his side. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to leave you guys!" His voice was quivering and January could feel him press his cheek against her neck, he was shaking and she thought he might be crying or fighting the urge to anyway. "Hey it's fine, you're alive, I'm alive, Tyrone and Valerie are alive. George too!" She said as she placed a hand on his back hoping it was a little comforting as she was greatly out of her element. She heard a sniff. "Who's George?" Martin asked and January slightly shook her head in the hug. "He's a doctor." She smiled at her inside joke then she realized something was off. "Hold on." She pulled away from Martin who's eyes were puffy and she could see he had a rather nasty looking bite on his shoulder, then she placed the back of her hand on Martin's forehead which he seemed to flinch at for a moment. "Dude you're burning up!" She said and now that she was looking at his face she could see he was paler than normal and his face was sweaty. "Yeah I don't think I'm doing to good." He said as he raised his left arm a little and winced before he let it drop back to his side. January looked at it gingerly took it and lifted it up to get a closer look, she didn't like the swelling and could guess this was from when he got stung by the large wasp. January got to his right side and pulled his arm over her shoulder. "Come on, we'll get you out of here and then get you patched up." She said and she started to walk back towards the ladder she used to earlier. "Not through there! There's a bunch of angry bugs that wanna poke me with their butt knives!" Martin said as he relaxed into January's arms a little. January had to admit, going back up there with someone as out of it as Martin was now was probably a bad idea, and if he was this bad from one sting what would happen if he got stung again or several more times? She didn't want to find out.

A loud static screech made both of them reach for their ears as the ear splitting blare of noise turned into more a tolerable hum from the intercom above. "Hello? Is this on? Um, listen to me, my name is George. Tyrone and Valerie please be on the look out for components to make a Reagent that can be used to cure this infection. The ingredients are P-Base which can be found in the basement labs, but it must be sealed airtight or it will not work. V-poison in the Emissions Tower, there should be a sample ready for transport, January you just have to find it! And lastly T-Blood which-" The intercom suddenly cut out and January looked up at it half expecting it to continue whatever it was saying. "Oh that's not good..." Martin mumbled and January looked back at the ladder. "No it's not, I get the feeling the V-poison stuff is up there with the wasps." She said and Martin shook his head. "Not that..!" And in a quick motion Martin pulled away from January and rushed forward a few steps before vomiting onto the floor. "Oh geez." January winced as Martin dry heaved for a moment before he leaned against the wall slowly sliding to the floor. She walked around the puke and moved down to his side. "Stay put little guy, I'll get the stuff and then we can find a new way out of here, Okay?" She said and Martin nodded. "Okay just be careful. Okay?" He said and January smiled. "I'm always careful." She said as she walked to the ladder. "You weren't like two minutes ago!" Martin called as she climbed the ladder ignoring him. "Just relax Marty." She let out a sigh. "I've got this." She mumbled climbing further up into the hallway above, Martin's voice growing distant. The idea of curing the infection seemed important but maybe impossible but if there was a chance to fix it all didn't she have some kind of moral obligation to at least try? "Ugh stupid M.O." She mumbled as she moved forward in search of the stupid V-poison that George asked for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter finds you all well, Chapters are coming slow but I'm always thinking of how to try and make this better. Please enjoy!  
> Side note-I posted this chapter early by accident and there may be more errors than my other chapters. Please be patient as I am always reading it over to fix whatever mistakes I can find.


	7. Dazed and confused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Becca and Kelly wake up to find something amiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another POV swap. this is a short chapter.

The darkness was terrifying, Becca wanted to scream for help, but she didn't know if something inhuman would find her. Then she slowly started to remember what had transpired before. "Wakey wakey." Kelly's voice called out and a light turned on. "Mornin sunshine." Kelly said as Becca rubbed her eyes looking around the room. "Oh right. We're in the office or somethin." She said drowsily as she slipped on her boots, before she sat on the couch her head slightly pounding. "How's the head?" Kelly asked as she went to the door Sam and Martin had went through to sleep. Becca stood up and stretched. Kelly knocked on the door, making Becca wince a little. "Man they must be knocked out." Kelly said as she turned the doorknob leading to the inner office. "They did drink a lot more than us." Becca said as Kelly opened the door she looked into the office then turned towards Becca. "Um. Becca?" She said and Becca grew a little worried as she stepped closer.

Looking into the office, there wasn't a soul in sight. "Martin? Sam?" She called and there was no response. "Oh this is not good." Becca said as she started to grow much more worried. "Relax, I'm sure they just went to the bathroom. Or maybe they went somewhere to suck face." Kelly said unconvincingly. "And they left without waking us? I don't think that checks out." Becca said as she went over to where she set her gun down. "Okay good point." Kelly said walking over to where the other gun rested. "C'mon we gotta find our boys." Becca said as she went into the office where Sam and Martin went to sleep. 

Becca walked around the office almost hoping she'd find the two huddled in a corner or something but she knew that was too good to be true. "What are you doing?" Kelly asked as she walked into the room. "Lookin for clues... Or something." Becca said as she continued to look around. "Come on, maybe they're in the main hall?" Kelly said as she went to the door that led back into the hall. Becca let out a sigh. "I'm sure they're fine.." She tried to convince herself before she followed Kelly, the two walked through the halls back to the large room where they had arrived, the room was only slightly less dim than when they had gotten there but something felt off, a lingering sense of dread that Becca knew all to well. Something bad was about to happen. "Kelly." She whispered. "Yeah what's up?" Kelly said as Becca grabbed her by the arm stopping her. "I have a bad feelin. A really bad feel-" Just then the sound of glass breaking startled both of the girls as they crouched down hiding behind the railing. The stain glass window next to them shattered sending broken glass all over the floor as something landed in the center of the room on the first floor.

"What the fuck is that!?" Kelly shrieked as whatever had broken through the window started to stand, it looked like a man only much larger. In almost every aspect as he stood tall and had a muscular physic, but worse were his hands, they were much larger than normal hands and had long claws. The bald head slowly turned towards the two girls white eyes that lacked pupils stared at them. "Oh my God..." Becca stared wide eyed at the creature that was staring back, its human face emotionless, it was unnerving to say the least. "Kelly. We need to run." Becca whispered just as the tall man creature started sprinting up the stairs to get to them. Becca still holding Kelly's arm pulled her as she ran back into the hallway they had come from. "We gotta go now!" She called and the two girls raced back the way they came. "Who the actual fuck is that guy!?" Kelly yelled as they ran through the door and slammed it shut. Becca sprinted down the hallway with Kelly close behind. "I think at this point it's a what, not a who!" Becca said as she turned the corner and slid to a stop. "Oh no." She had reached a dead end.

"What about the other room?" Becca asked and Kelly shook her head. "No the other two rooms are dead ends." Becca bit her thumb nail. "Alright think Becca, think." She looked around there was a bust of some important looking old guy and a book shelf. "This is a long shot but." Becca went to the bookshelf and started to push it, it was heavy and refused to move. "What are you doing?" Kelly asked fear in her voice as they heard a door at the end of the hall open followed by heavy footsteps. "Just help me!" Becca said and Kelly went to stand beside Becca and they both pushed with a heavy grunt, then after a moment the shelf started to move. "Please let me be right!" Becca practically prayed and as the shelf slid along the floor, Becca could see what looked like a door. "Oh sweet Jesus, I knew it!" Becca said and once the door was accessible Becca opened it and she and Kelly went through as they heard the loud footsteps grow closer. "Where are we?" Becca asked. The room was dark, lit only by a few lights that flickered dimly, the walls were covered in pipes. "Some kind of maintenance room?" Kelly said as she looked around. The room was more of a passageway, Becca could see there was a ladder leading down somewhere. A heavy slam against door made them jump as the door creaked open and a massive clawed hand gripped the edge of the door. "Oh fucking crap!" Kelly said as she rushed over to the ladder, Becca readied her rifle aiming it at the door. "Hurry your sweet ass up Kelly dear!" She said hearing Kelly's footsteps as she climbed down the ladder. When there was enough room Becca hopped onto the ladder and started climbing down after her. Glancing over her shoulder she could see their pursuer much closer now, and the lifeless eyes shook her to her core. "Oh nope, Kelly get moving he's coming!" Becca cried out and she tried to climb down faster accidentally stepping on Kelly's hand causing her to fall to the floor below as she cried out. Becca winced as she heard the thud below and she decided to follow suit and dropped as the tall monster raised its claws thrusting them at her. She fell hard next to Kelly who was starting to sit up. "Ow what the fuck Becca?" She said and Becca scrambled to her feet as she looked up, the monster above was adjusting itself trying to climb down the ladder, but when it seemed it couldn't quite fit, it seemed to give up and went back out the door. Becca let out a sigh. "Phew, you okay?" Becca asked getting to her feet. "Just peachy." Kelly grumbled and stood up. 

The room wasn't like any ordinary boiler room or maintenance tunnel Becca had seen before, not that she had seen a lot of them, but seeing as how the door was hidden behind a bookshelf she knew there had to be some strange secret behind it. Kelly let out a sigh. "How did you know the bookshelf was hiding a door?" She asked and Becca scratched her head. "I'll be honest it was wishful thinking but i figured if there were monsters like him running around." She jerked a thumb towards upwards to where their pursuer had given up. "Then there had to be secret passageways." She then let out a small gasp. "I bet that's what happened to Sam and Martin too!" She said as she looked around spotting a door at the end of the hall. "Come on, I get the feeling that thing is gonna keep coming after us, better keep moving." Becca said reaching for the door as Kelly followed.

Becca opened the door and on the other side was a much brighter hallway. "Okay... Now where are we?" Kelly asked and Becca looked around readying her rifle, to her left was a door with a bloody hand print on it to her right was a loose hanging wire that had sparks coming out of the end but it lead further down towards what might have been a loading area. Kelly took a few steps forward and the door closed behind her, Becca looked back and noticed the door nearly perfectly blended in with the wall and had no doorknob. "Oh jeez." She said as she tried to open the door but her fingers couldn't seem to find any grip and she gave up. "Well hope we don't have to try and get back through there." She thought as she decided to try the right pathway and walked along avoiding the hanging wires. Kelly stepped closer to a nearby window. "Whatcha see?" Becca asked following her. "A parking lot... Hey look!" She said and Becca quicken her step to peered outside.

There stood several armed men all in the same green uniform with black tactical vests, tan pants and black combat boots. "Hey! Over here!" Kelly shouted and Becca was about to shout too when she noticed the familiar red and white logo on there backs, She grabbed Kelly and pulled her down. "Keep it down darlin! They work for Umbrella!" She whispered harshly and Kelly looked at her then peeked her head back up and winced. "M-maybe they'll help us?" She said and Becca looked up too. "Or Maybe they'll put a bullet in our heads." She said and Kelly lowered her head. Becca watched them, unsure of what to do when the men outside seemed to notice something and they all quickly aimed their weapons at something out of view and began firing. "Oh Shit somethin's goin down!" Becca said and Kelly looked up. The fired their automatic weapons as they stepped back when in a flash their tall pursuer from earlier came into view and gave a hard punch to one man right in his chest. shrugging off the bullets he moved to the next man giving him a slash across his chest.

Their screams muffled by the glass between the Umbrella agents and Becca, she watched in horror as the monster made short work of them. "Holy shit." Kelly mumbled as the man impaled the last soldier with its claws then ran off with him still hanging limply from it. The two women stood there as Kelly's knees buckled from underneath her. "We're so screwed." She said and Becca let out a shaky breath. "Its fine... They're just... sleeping..." She said before she turned around grabbing a shocked Kelly by the sleeve of her shirt for a moment. "I say we go this way." She said and Kelly slowly followed her. The two went towards the bloody door and went through on the other side were two zombies, one in a security guard uniform the other in a nice suit. "What now?" Kelly asked and Becca raised her gun then after a moment lowered it. "We should save our ammo." She said as she watched the two zombies. Neither seemed to notice them and Becca decided to channel her inner Sam. "Get ready to run." She whispered and after giving herself a small countdown in her head she sprinted forward towards the zombies slamming her shoulder into the first one and it stumbled back she then keeping her momentum going and tried to slam her elbow into the other hitting it hard in the face, she winced as she felt a sharp pain through her arm but kept running, she looked over her shoulder and saw Kelly close behind with the two zombies on the ground slowly standing up. "That wasn't so bad!" She said and they ran and turned the corner and went through the door at the end of the hall.

They didn't get far before they heard the heavy footsteps above them, looking up Becca imagined the tall monster pacing somewhere on the second floor searching for its next victim. "Come on, I think I know a way out of here." Kelly said as she slowly walked forward. "Out of here? You mean the university or the city?" Becca asked as she followed Kelly into the main hall. "Both hopefully." Kelly said as they walked around the shattered glass towards the door at the opposite end of the room, Becca realized she hadn't been in that door yet and as she got closer she saw it read 'Security' on it. Kelly looked around before opening the door. "This place has a dock and boats and stuff, if we find one that works-" She spoke and Becca lit up. "We can use it to get the hell out of here!" Then her face fell. "But the others..." Kelly looked at her for a moment. "Do you really think they're still alive? With that thing stomping around?" She said and Becca felt a sharp pain in her chest. "They ain't dead!" She whispered back harshly. Kelly rolled her eyes and walked into the security room, there was a collection of monitors that were turned off and a set of lockers near an elevator door. "We can take this down to the pier." Kelly said pressing the elevator button. Becca followed her. "Alright, but we ain't leavin them, if they didn't make it then." her face grew dark. "Well I ain't leavin till I know for sure alright?" She said and Kelly eyed her. "Fine we find their bodies, then leave okay?" She said and Becca frowned, the idea of finding her friends dead was too real, she remembered how many people died in the experiments, she was devastated she couldn't save them, the others though, her friends, were the first ones to not only come back alive with her but try to keep her alive too, they were her posse she wasn't about to leave them high and dry. "WHEN we find them and IF they didn't make it, we'll leave." She said through gritted teeth. "But just as sure we're standin here, I know those two are around here somewhere trying to find us." She said and the elevator doors opened and they walked in, pressing the button for B2. The doors closed and the elevator began its decent.

A shiver went through Becca as she remembered the elevators in the lab, the cold feeling that the doors would open and a new nightmare would greet them. She readied her gun, keeping her finger along the trigger guard, ready to fire but also to keep from accidentally pulling the trigger like her dad taught her. The elevator doors opened and Becca raised her rifle as she stepped forward scanning the room, Kelly did the same for a moment before she simply started walking. When it was clear the room of empty of any monsters Becca lowered her gun and stepped forward. The room had a chain link fence separating them from a perfectly usable boat in the middle of the room, the fenced off area stopped just short of a smaller door meant for people and much larger closed shutter door meant for boats. Kelly went to the gate on the chain link fence and let out a frustrated groan. "It's locked." She said and Becca sighed. "Of course it is." She said as she went to the door and opened it immediately was hit with a gust of wind. "Well how bout that?" She said to herself as she saw the swaying waves in front of her. She walked out and felt a bit of a chill. "Really wish I had a pair jeans." She thought for the second time, she briefly rubbed her thighs then looked around, spotting another boat. "Hey Kelly, out here!" She said as she stepped further into the dim light. There was a sail boat gently rocking with the waves tied to the pier. Kelly stepped out behind her and spotted the boat rushing over to it, Becca followed and they carefully stepped onto it. "Sail boat... That means we don't need gas for it, yeah?" Kelly said and Becca nodded. "Yeah I think so." She wasn't a boat person she knew people who were but she wasn't one of them. "I hope you know how to sail this thing." Becca said and Kelly scoffed. "Sure I do, I work part time at a zoo and I know how to sail a boat, girl come on, how hard can it be?" Becca glared at Kelly for a brief moment but the other woman was too busy looking around the inside of cabin before suddenly the boat shook violently knocking both to their knees. "What the fuck is goin on!?" Kelly asked as they both ran rushed out of the cabin.

Becca looked around spotting a shadow in the water. "Oh no." She readied her gun and followed the shadow as it swam past another, going under the docks and around the boat. "Becca, over there!" Kelly shouted with fear in her voice as she pointed towards the door they both had come out of. It was the tall monster with claws lowering his head as he walked out onto the pier with them. Becca raised her gun, when the boat gave another violent shake nocking her off balance and Kelly fell forward dropping her assault rifle into the water. "No!" She cried out as she went to the edge. "Come on!" Becca shouted as she jumped off the boat onto the docks. The boat slowly began to sink as water could be heard rushing behind them. Kelly looked around fearfully first at the tall man, then the water, then back at the boat. Becca looked up at her then to the monster walking towards them with heavy footsteps. "Kelly darlin ya gotta get movin!" She said taking aim and firing at the monster hitting him in the chest, and he continued his stride unfazed, small trails of blood trickled down his body. Kelly let out a cry as she jumped over to Becca but the boat gave another violent jerk to the side making her loose her footing and she slammed hard against the wooden docks and fell into the water. Becca rushed to the side of the dock and held out her hand. "Kelly! Kelly grab my hand!" She called out and after a few splashes Kelly's head burst from the water gasping for air. "Becca! Help me!" She coughed desperately and Becca tried to grab her flailing arm.

Suddenly another huge splash startled Becca and she saw a large shark jumping out of the water, out of panicked reflex she pushed herself back right as it came crashing down into the water next to her, right where Kelly had been. In a brief moment the water was chaos and then only a few moments later it was still. "Kelly!?" Becca looked around frantically, noticing the boat was starting to be completely submerged, she gripped her hair trying to spot the zoo keeper. The jumping out of the water again was the same shark, only now it had a pair of legs sticking out of its mouth it gave a sickening crunch as it went back under the water. "Oh no." Becca watched as the red from Kelly slowly faded into the water. "No no no!" She muttered as her gaze turned back to the now much closer creature raising its claws to strike at her. She clumsily jumped back. "Son of bitch! You wanna go!?" She said scrambling to her feet, she readied her automatic and let loose a volley of bullets, piercing their way up the monster's leg, up along his chest, and finally hitting a sweet spot on his head that made him reel back. Becca took this as an opportunity to run past him before she turned around to face him again firing more rounds. Trying to hit his head but as he stood and faced her, he held a large hand with bloody claws over his face absorbing what ever shots would have hit their mark. "Son of a gun!" She said as she reloaded and the monster raised its claws and thrusted them forward, Becca fell backwards and took that as her cue to cut her loses and make a run for it. She sprinted down the docks to the door, turning for a brief moment to stare at the water. "Sorry Kelly." She said mournfully as she threw the door open and went through, racing around the fenced in area to the elevator she rapidly pressed the button and after a moment it opened, she stepped inside and pressed several of the floors before she heard the sound of the door getting ripped off the hinges and her pursuer slowly came into sight before he sprinted at her just as the doors to the elevator closed, she heard a dull thud come from the other side which startled her, but once it was clear the elevator was on the move and she was safe for the moment, she fell back and let out a shaky sigh.

She wanted to cry, to curl up into a ball and wish all the bad things away, but she decided she should check her ammo instead. "One clip left..." She thought back to how much her uncle would scold her for calling it a clip instead of a magazine, she gave a brief moment of repose, wishing for the simple days where the biggest conflict in her life was making her uncle red with anger when he taught her how to shoot, only to go home hugging it out, comparing shots and enjoying some of his home cooking. She felt her eyes water. "Hang on, Uncle Karl. I swear I will make it out of this alive." She said to herself and the elevator doors opened revealing a hallway with blood along the walls and desks and chairs scattered about. "Well Hell now where am I?" She asked herself as she took one last glance into the elevator to see she was on the 3rd floor. She walked forward found a room labeled Experiment preparation room. She then looked further down the hallway and stepped closer spotting a hole in the floor. As she took another step looking down into the darkness she felt the floor collapse from underneath her. She let out a scream as she reached out for something grabbing onto the leg of one of the desks piled up nearby. "Shit!" was all she could mutter as the desk loosened and she along with some debris fell into the dark hole. She hit the ground with a sharp thud and her vision spun before she looked around, a desk crashed down next to her and she covered her head with her arms. Daring to peek out from behind herself she could tell there wasn't anything else that was going to fall and she decided to quickly moved away from her crash site.

"Ah hell now where am I?" Becca mumbled to herself as she rubbed the spot on her head that throbbed, she felt something sticky and looked at her hand, a smear of blood made her vision swim again for a moment but she blinked a few times to focus. "C'mon girl, ain't like you haven't seen way more of your own blood." She thought as she wiped her hand on her shorts. She looked up towards the hole she tumbled down and let out a huff. "Don't look like I can crawl my way back up there." She said then looked around and spotted her gun, she quickly stepped over to it and looked it over. "Don't look broke, good." She then checked out the room. The room was familiar and Becca felt a rush of anger. "Damn it! I back here!?" She thought as she looked around the main hall entrance, she was on the second floor in the corner of the room. She heard a door get thrown open with a great amount of force and she heard quick heavy footsteps as she recognized them. She looked around and spotted the familiar tall monster rushing up the stairs his head turned towards her. "Oh you wanna go again!?" She growled as she raised her gun, firing at him as he ran towards her. She followed him with her sights and she could tell she was hitting him by the blood he left behind. She took several long steps back as he grew closer. She heard the painful click of an empty magazine. "Need more lead!" She called out of instinct, wishing for her squad to back her up. She knew she could rely on them, Sam's brute strength, Valerie's brains, Martin's craftiness. And Tyrone.

She clumsily fell to the side dodging a swipe from the claws, Becca let out a primal scream as she swung her assaults rifle by the barrel as some kind of makeshift club and hit the monster in the back of his knee, for a brief moment his balance was thrown off and he dropped forward onto his knees, his hand propping him up. Becca wondered if she had upset him, but judging from the blank look on his face she was guessing he didn't have enough free will to be upset. She would have felt sorry for him if she wasn't fighting for her life. She stood up and quickly reloaded realizing she was down to her last magazine she aimed the rifle at the back of the monster's head and was about to pull the trigger when the monster quickly turned and knocked the rifle from her hands. It flew towards the guard rail and Becca stared wide eyed as it fell to the first floor she then looked at the monster again. The monster slowly stood up to its full height keeping eye contact as it did. Becca felt her heart race as she threw a punch at him. It made a harmless thud against his chest and Becca looked up at him wide eyed. "Right that's Sam's thing." She whispered and stepped back. The monster raised his arm and threw his own fist forward. Becca brought her arms up in a last minute attempt to block the punch but it slammed hard against her left forearm and threw her whole body back. Becca hissed at the intense pain and for a brief moment she was afraid she had broken something but she could still move her arm and scrambled to her feet. The monster before her, stepping closer with its claws raised. Becca turned and ran, without a weapon she was done for. "I need my gun!" She thought frantically as she looked around for the rifle that had fallen. She ran back and nearly fell down the stairs as she rushed down them. She dared to glance over her shoulder and spotted her pursuer close behind running after her. She decided to focus on running and looked ahead grabbing the fancy handrail and using the large wooden ball at the first half of the stairs to carry her momentum to the next set of stairs and she dropped past several steps but she lost her footing and fell forward tumbling down the wooden stairs until she felt the carpet of the first floor, she knew she had to get up but her body was sore and she couldn't help but let out a groan as she pushed herself back to her feet. Her heart was racing she felt her face burning as she started to sprint again she heard the sound of something cutting the air behind her and a shiver shot up her spine. She remembered the placement of where her gun fell. "Whereisit,Whereisit!?" She breathed as she looked for her assault rifle hoping it wasn't damaged from the fall. Suddenly a harsh intense pain shot through her head as she was thrown to the ground, her vision swimming. 

Becca tried to get her figure out what was happening as she wobbled to her feet. "Somethin hit me in the head." She thought as she stepped away from the monster before her. She shook her head, the pain persisted and she felt like she might vomit but she continued her weak retreat as the monster grew closer. She turned and ran she didn't know where, she could barely even see straight but she knew she had to keep moving. She got turned around, she didn't have a clue where her gun was but she couldn't think about that, she need to get away. She smacked into a desk and fell over it she rolled across the floor, She blinked and shook her head again, her vision slightly cleared up a little. "Motherfucker.." She said weakly as she looked back and then noticed the desk getting tossed aside by the monster, with little effort. Becca couldn't think she needed to act. She reached out for something, anything and she felt her hand feel something wooden. She grabbed it with both hands and used all her strength to lift and swing it, a chair shattered against the monster's chest and it took a step back but then in a quick motion it grabbed Becca by her head. She cried out in pain as she was brought down to her knees. She couldn't tell if her eyes were open or if she only saw darkness from the large hand crushing her face. She felt the grip tighten and she wondered if her head was going to pop. She cried out again as she tried to pry the hand from her. She weakly smacked his arm and pulled at his clawed fingers.

Becca felt her eyes tear up, she was going to die, she had seen Umbrella's monsters crush someone's head before and now it was going to happen to her, and that if her friends ever found her, they would see her body and her mutilated head. "I let y'all down." She thought as she pictured the others, then Tyrone the first time she knew she wanted to be happy with him she wished they were free, that they could date like normal people. Then she imagined her family. She wished she could see her Aunt and Uncle, she wished she got out of the city and found them. "Someone help..." She whimpered as she felt the grip grow to an unbearable level.

She blinked and she was on the floor, her mind racing, confusion the only thing she knew, she wondered if she was dead. She'd look over and see her mangled corpse and then that was it. When she looked around she saw the monster taking a few steps back, but more importantly she saw Tyrone hanging onto the monster's neck from behind in a choke hold. There were noises and she couldn't make out any words but she recognized his voice, Tyrone was saying something. To her or to the monster she couldn't tell. "Tyrone..?" Her voice was weak and she knew he wouldn't hear her. She then snapped too and noticed the full impact of what she was seeing, she looked around and spotted her gun from before she tried to stand and run to it, but her legs gave out a little and she stumbled but she quickly got back up and limped over to the rifle. She reached down and picked it up, looking over it briefly before she turned back and rushed toward Tyrone and the horrid monster that had been chasing her all morning. She aimed her rifle but then remembered how the only shot that fazed the shot to the head. "T-Tyrone!" She called out as she got closer. Watching Tyrone and the monster scuffle was nerve wracking as Tyrone had a tight choke hold on the bioweapon that spun wildly with its claws outstretched and swinging wildly in an attempt to shake him loose, if Becca got too close she'd be sliced open. "Tyrone get me a clear shot!" She called loudly as she stepped closer. "Becca, I'm glad you're alright!" Tyrone said as he was swung around like a ragdoll. "Tyrone gimme a clear shot!" Becca shouted and Tyrone jumped off and fell back onto the floor. The monster stopped spinning and looked over at him, Becca saw it as the best chance she had and looked down her sights aimed right at his bald head. She let out a high pitched whistle and it caught the monster's attention, once she saw its eyes looking at her, she pulled the trigger and she felt the familiar recoil and the loud sound of gunfire, the flash of the gun barrel.

She prayed that each hit would hit its mark, she honestly couldn't tell but seeing as how the monster stumbled back and blood trickled down its body, she was sure she did some damage. and in only a brief moment the gun clicked and Becca continued to pull the trigger only to hear more clicks. She stared at the unmoving body of the tall beast before her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she flinched. "Becca..?" Tyrone's voice whispered to her and she turned towards him. She started to smile and tear up. "You're gonna have to speak up darlin' I think I got a real bad case of tinnitus." She was then pulled into a hug. "I can't believe I found you!" Tyrone said and Becca wanted to say something but instead she just started to cry. She let out all the anguish she had felt, the fear of never getting to see Tyrone again or even surviving the last few minutes. She let out a wail as she shook and sobbed. Tyrone held her close and gave her quiet soothing whispers. "Babe it's gonna be okay." He said and Becca pulled away a little, she sniffed and rubbed her nose there was a dull pain as she did, snot and blood now covered her hand. "Ty, I-I wasn't kiddin you're gonna have to speak up, guns are loud." She said with a short giggle as she wiped her hand on her shorts. Tyrone smiled and was about to say something, when a noise came over the intercom. "Hello? Is this on? Um, listen to me, my name is George. Tyrone and Valerie please be on the look out for components to make a Reagent that can be used to cure this infection. The ingredients are P-Base which can be found in the basement labs, but it must be sealed airtight or it will not work. V-poison in the Emissions Tower, there should be a sample ready for transport, January you just have to find it! And lastly T-Blood which-" The voice cut out.

Becca was stunned, she stood there wide eyed and looked at Tyrone. "A cure? And th-the others are here? Jan and Val?" She asked and Tyrone smiled as he slowly nodded. "We came to rescue you guys." Becca put a hand over her mouth as she smiled, but her face then grew fearful. "Sam and Martin, they're missin!" She said and Tyrone's expression became more serious as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Val and Jan are looking for them, we saw them on a security camera, they need help." He said and Becca grew wide eyed, then she got angry. "Where are they? Who put them there? I'm gonna rip their head off!" She said angrily as she took a few more steps forward and she noticed how much pain she was in. Her head pounded, her arms throbbed and she knew she had a limp now. "Hold up Becca, listen we need to get you some help." Tyrone said as he easily caught up to her. "Ty. I let Kelly die, I ain't loosing my boys too!" She said as she walked past the tall body on the floor, then something caught her eye. Tyrone had a sad look on his face. "Kelly didn't make it?" And then he sighed. Then his eyes went back to Becca.

She looked at the back of the monster that lay face down. "Hey darlin' what's that?" She pointed unsure if she was seeing straight. There was a metal contraption latched onto its back with a small red tube sticking out of it, it was a vial of what looked like blood. "George said something about T-Blood. Its a vial of blood, I say we take it." He said and Becca reached down and grabbed the vial, it was warm and she was surprised it wasn't damaged after how many random shots she took at the monster it was attached to. She twisted it and it popped out of its strange holder. "Okay we got it, wait who's George?" Becca asked then shook her head. "Never mind, You take this to the George guy and I'll go look for the others." She said and Tyrone went after and grabbed her by the arm. "No listen to me, I'll take you to George with the stupid vial, he'll take care of you while I go look for the others." Tyrone said and picked up Becca and carried her bridal style. "Ah I missed this." Becca said with a smile as she leaned her head on his chest. "How about we figure out who this George guy is, then we worry about everything else cool?" She then perked up. "I saw a room on the third floor earlier called experiment prep room, maybe that's where we need to take this thing?" She said as she cradled the vial of T-Blood. Tyrone shrugged and walked towards the security office. "As good a place as any to start." He said and carried Becca to the elevator. Becca looked back at the body of the monstrosity that made her morning hell, she was half expecting to see it move and start to chase after them. "Babe, you got a gun I can borrow?" She asked and Tyrone set her down and reached into the back of his waistband and handed her his handgun. "Was saving it for you anyway." He said and she smiled. "Aw thanks." She took the gun and eyed the body. She didn't take her eyes off of it as Tyrone grabbed her hand and led her away.

They walked on into the elevator, Becca realizing how exhausted she was as she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Tyrone pressed the 3rd floor button and in almost no time they were already leaving the elevator. Becca looked around then pointed toward the door she saw earlier. "There." She said trying to take the lead. but Tyrone outpaced her and reached for the door, opening it he slowly looked in and saw it was an empty room with a whiteboard and a computer with a large crack in the monitor, there was another door and this time Becca took the lead with Tyrone's handgun at the ready, she opened the door and peaked in, there was a man in a suit writing something down, Becca raised the gun and aimed it at him, she stepped in and scanned the rest of the room. "Oh did you find one of-" The man started but when he saw Becca he froze. "Oh... Please don't shoot me." He said calmly as he rose his hands in surrender and Tyrone moved Becca's arm down. "Don't worry, that's George, George this is Becca." He said and both relaxed. Becca put the gun away. "Sorry bout that darlin'." She said and George smiled. "Well, given the circumstances. I'm just glad we have more guns on our side." He said and Becca nodded. "I can respect that but I think you might be more glad to have this!" She said as she pulled out the vial of blood. George looked at it his eyebrows raised for a moment before he had a more calm and neutral expression. "Is that the one of the ingredients?" He asked as he took it from her. "Lord I hope so." Becca said and decided she earned the right to sit down so she found a chair close by and sat down. "Pardon my bluntness, but are you alright? you look like you've been through the ringer." George said as he examined the vial before he took it to a strange machine in the corner of the room. "Oh that, I got my ass kicked." Becca said with a smile as she rubber her nose and winced. Tyrone walked over to the door. "Alright, Becca you stay here and keep the doc safe." He said and Becca quickly stood up. "Oh no you ain't leavin me behind!" She said and Tyrone turned towards her. "Hey I'm sorry but I am, you remember anytime one of us got hurt during a test?" He said and Becca thought back to when they had to work together to keep one of the more injured companions alive, even if it meant locking them in a room where they could be safe. "Well we're all gonna be coming back here so it's better that we have someone holding down the fort." Tyrone said and Becca reluctantly agreed and she let out a sigh. "Fine." She then brought him into a kiss. "But you gotta be safe alright?" She said as she pulled away and Tyrone smiled. "I'm the safest. I'll bring them back too." He said and Becca watched as he left. She bit her thumbnail as she went back to her chair staring at the door. "Y'all better be safe." She sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet ya weren't expecting this huh? anyway hope y'all like it, trying to give it good pacing and still find the time to work on it.


	8. Experiences.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desperately Sam fights for survival, with thin glimpse at what could have been.

Sam walked around the cold room, looking around he could see the leaking pipes and the part of the lab that was flooded, the water was strangely clear which was something he did enjoy. "Clean water... That's pretty cool I guess." He said in a monotone voice. He wasn't sure what he was feeling, he knew a moment ago he was terrified, what he feared most was coming true he was back in a test, and even though he waited for a new problem to show up he wasn't afraid anymore, he was angry for a long while but now he just didn't want to feel anything. He was tired, he wanted to just sit down, to get wasted with his friends, or have a nice dinner with his parents, to bring Martin to his parents. "Well that one has a few problems." He muttered as he looked around the corner. There was a walkway in the middle of the room, surrounded by water. There was a simple three foot drop into it and he looked down peering into it, it was a little dark towards the bottom but there were lights submerged underneath, illuminating it, it briefly reminded him of the zoo lights. "I fall into a lot of water, I bet I'm gonna have to swim again." He thought bitterly. There was a strange echo through the lab. "Oh here we go, now what?" He said as he looked around, scanning the area. The lab was somewhat well lit evenly, but with the water there definitely were plenty of decent hiding spots. He let out a sigh as he then continued walking. "Where am I even going?" He sighed then spotted the only door that wasn't submerged. "Oh jeez I wonder where I'm gonna go?" He said sarcastically as he tucked his hands into his pockets with a pout. There was splash and Sam looked behind him with an exaggerated turn. There wasn't any thing in sight and Sam didn't seem impressed as he continued to spin and face the door again. "Oh goodness gracious, how scary." He grumbled as he threw on his hood. 

There was a much louder splash and then Sam heard a wet thud against metal. He turned around again, this time he saw a strange frog creature that stood on its hind legs, it was a little shorter than Sam. Its blue rubbery skin was dripping as the beast that had no eyes turned its head towards him, its long arms were almost touching the metal walkway it stood on. It croaked in a strange way that seemed to vibrate its whole body. "Aw man, I liked frogs." He said as he watched a few more of the frog monsters swimming closer, and hopping out of the water. The frogs started to do a goofy run towards him and Sam stepped back a little as he balled up his fists and then turned back towards the door. "Sam on the run." He quietly sang to himself as he reluctantly started to run towards the door. he didn't far before another frog jumped out of the water in front of him and Sam slowed to a stop before he sped up again and shoved his body into the frog nocking it onto its back it almost felt like he was tackling a waterbed or a sandbag but it almost instantly jumped up to its feet then threw a hand forward and slapped Sam hard across the face. "I just got bitch slapped by a frog... I gotta tell Jan about that one." He thought as he felt his face where the frog had slapped, it stung and he was worried it knocked a tooth loose before he pushed off the ground and as he stood up quickly and delivered an uppercut and landed it in what was basically its chin and it fell back again, this time Sam ran past it and towards the door smacking into it before he threw the door open and dashed through.

It was a another walkway that was fairly short walk away leading to another door. "So many damn doors." Sam growled as he quickly stepped out and went to the door and reached for the doorknob as more splashes and thud could be heard close by. "Oh great more frogs." He said as he turned around to face the amphibious monster. It was much too close for comfort as it raised one of its long limbs and brought it down and Sam quickly stepped to the side and watched as it practically slapped the door and it made a loud whap startling Sam. He simply gave a hard push getting away from the door and he quickly went through, He saw a few terminals and a big test tube full of water. He locked the door behind him unsure of how effective that would actually be.

He looked around the "Quality assurance room" as he found out it was called and looked around the smaller room with several notepads, books, clipboards, many things Sam thought were scientist like things likes pens. He closed the door and walked through and went to yet another door and saw the other side was flooded as well. "I swear if I get wet again." He muttered as he went through and looked around. There was a walkway the led around the room to a set of stairs the led into the water. "I'm gonna loose~" Sam sang as he quickly scanned the room and then spotted a pipe somewhat low enough for him to grab and maybe move his way to a different dry area across the room and then he spotted something that might actually be promising, a ladder at the far end of the room where the pipe ended, leading up to what Sam was really hoping was sun light beaming through the tiny holes through a manhole cover. "My fuckin' mind~!" He finished his song as he looked around and then another bang on the door behind him and he stepped closer to the pipe. He looked at it and then jumped up and grabbed the pipe and did a few pull ups before he cracked a smile. "Okay enough dicking around." He said as he started to shimmy along the pipe one hand then the other moving sideways toward the other area in the lab, and he didn't realize how difficult this task was until he was over the water flooded portion of the lab. Sam looked down and let out a groan as he saw more of the frogs swimming below him. It made him nervous and he stopped moving for a moment wondering if he should try and find a different way. When another splash happened right in front of him and a frog launched into the air and swiped at him just shy of him, He then decided to go back and when he was over the concrete walkway he dropped again. "I hate this place." Sam muttered as he rubbed his hands and the door swung open and the frogs started to pour in. "No man, come on!" He grumbled and turned to look down the rest of the walkway, seeing a bathroom door that he hadn't noticed before. "Might as well." He said as he went over to he door and went inside. "Okay... Come on. What am I gonna do?" He said as he leaned back against the bathroom door and looked around.

It was a dingy bathroom with cracks in the walls and mirrors. It looked like a normal crappy public bathroom, and Sam briefly wondered about if any employees would rather hold it than go in an evil secret lab bathroom. Then he went over and looked around the bathroom. "Need a weapon or something." He said and he noticed a plunger and picked it up, he held it for a moment before giving it a practice swing. "Well... This is how I'm going to die, fighting off an army of giant frogs... With a plunger." He sighed. "At least let me go out in a blaze of glory." He said as he looked himself in the mirror. He looked tired, and battered. His bandages on his arms were somewhat bloody and falling loose and his clothes had a discolor to them, possibly from when he fell into alligator pond, or maybe it was the constantly being dowsed in blood. He checked his hair. It was losing it nice combed style and had a patch that was sticking up probably from bed head. He let out a tired sigh. He didn't know how else to put it. He was tired of fighting, tired of running for his life, tired of always thinking his next run in with death would be his last.

Sam let out a shaky breath and then looked around again. He walked to the door and opened it slightly, looking out into labs. The frogs were swimming and walking closer, Sam tried to count them but when he started to get into the high teens he decided that he didn't really want to know how many he would have to take out to get out of here. He closed the door and took a deep breath then he readied his weapon, as pathetic as it made him feel. "I don't care if it's hope keeping me alive or something else, maybe spite? But I'm not giving up." He thought as he remembered his friends, then Martin. "Mom would've liked him." He thought and smiled as he heard a hollow thud against the door to the bathroom. "Okay... I wish I had a cool line... Oh well, least the others ain't here." He said to himself as he rushed towards the door.

The door swung open as Sam approached it at a near full sprint but the only thing there was another frog, but Sam was ready and lowered his shoulder and slammed it hard into the frog, it let out a funny deflated noise as it was slammed into and fell backwards a few steps and fell over the railway into the water bellow. Sam let out a strained breath as he looked around the walkway on his left had a few frogs and the walkway to his right was leading to a set of stairs that led down into the submerged part of the lab. His gaze fell onto the frog close by that was doing a run towards Sam its long arms swaying side to side and its mouth was open, each step there was a croak along with it. Sam raised his plunger above his head and brought it down hard onto the frog's head it seemed stunned but then Sam took the opportunity to raise the plunger, just to bring it down harder and the frog took a step back, some blood was leaking out of the spot Sam hit. Sam almost felt bad but not enough to stop another spiteful swing to its head, He let out a primal scream as he jumped up a little and with all his might he brought it down and the frog let out a croak like scream as it leapt back clumsily and then scrambled for the water, as it climbed over the railway Sam was debating if he should try and finish it off, but when another frog jumped out of the water and landed near him he didn't have much time to worry about it. He turned and with full force he swung the plunger and it broke over the frog and splintered out across the water below. Sam decided his trusty plunger wasn't done yet and he rushed forward and brought the broken handle down into a stabbing motion and pierced the frog in its head. Up close Sam could see a tiny beady black eye. "Huh, so you can see me? At least your not just a bunch of BLIND MONSTERS!" He screamed at the frog and watched as it shook violently before Sam pushed it away and it fell backwards and lay there, blood pooling beneath its head.

Sam watched as it fell down, a smile creeping across his face and he looked up more frogs approaching him from both directions. "Come on, you mother fuckers!" He called out as he raised his hands in his signature fighting pose. Another frog jumped up the side and he was ready, Sam couldn't figure out how to keep his cool like he normally could. He went into a fury. Slamming his fist across the frog's mouth before launching the other fist. In an aggressive barrage of punches the frog held up its hand to try and block the fist but Sam simply grabbed its hand with his left hand and brought it down low, then used his right hand to punch it repeatedly, The frog then lunged its head forward and grabbed his hand with its wide mouth. "Ew! Fucker let go!" Sam grumbled as he tried to pull his hand back, he struggled as the frog used its free hand to flail about, smacking Sam every few swings. It was more of an annoying smack then an actual attack. Sam brought his leg up and set his foot up on the frog's stomach and kicked off of it freeing his hand and he immediately rushed forward and threw his fist at it in a straight. The frog's face or at least the part that was were a face should be, caved in a little as Sam felt a solid satisfying hit, and just like the others this one jumped back into the water too. Sam took a breath and turned ready for another opponent when he noticed the frogs were keeping their distance, The swimmers just watched him as the ones on the walkway slowly stepped forward but would step back if Sam moved to fast. He let out a laugh as he watched them all. "Scared you assholes huh!? Well I'm not backing down till I get the fuck outta here!" He slowly walked over to the pipe from earlier looking out over the lab. There wasn't any other way that didn't involve swimming directly over there but he bet that the frogs would have way to much of an advantage in the water.

As Sam slowly reached up for the pipe he watched as the frogs nearby slowly moved closer, Sam stopped and snapped his attention towards them and startle the amphibious beasts, He snickered as he felt like a bully scaring the nerdy froglike kids at school. He frowned at himself. "I was kind of a bully in school." He remembered and then looked down at the water. There were frog heads bobbing in the water and would dive if he looked at them for too long. Sam sneered at them and then looked at what he was hoping was his escape route, the ladder leading up towards something unseen, something that either would give him hope or more misery. But he was so unsure of which one he expected, or even if he could hope at all. He felt his eyes burn a little and blinked, he rubbed his eyes and took a breath. "C'mon Sam. Jordan's don't cry." He sniffed as he realized he worried his dad would show up and use those exact words on him. "I hope Dad's okay." He thought briefly and he felt his eyes start to burn again. "No no no." He aggressively rubbed his eyes and focused on the ladder again, then the pipe above him and the frogs below. He watched as they floated still watching him. Sam took in a deep breath and let it out, then he took another breath. And he used it to fuel a primal scream, one he knew was new to him. A scream that shook his entire body, one he figured would ruin his throat but he didn't care, it echoed throughout the labs. The frogs scattered, diving below or scurrying away from him. "For a B.O.W. they kinda suck." He said with a slightly hoarse voice. He looked around the lab, there weren't any of the creatures in sight and he started to feel like he was making real progress. He gave a chuckle as he gave a small jump and grabbed the pipe above him and then in a repeated fashion from earlier moved his was along the pipe, closer to the water, soon he was hanging over the flooded labs below, he looked down into the water and could see the figures swimming around and he shuddered and quickened his pace.

He could hear the ominous croaks being to pick up in volume and number coming from several directions, Sam let out a nervous and shaky breath as he watched the solid ground get closer slowly as he felt his arms start to burn, he looked down and almost paused but he kept himself moving, there were no signs of the frogs. Unease and fear started to well up as he got as close to the safety of solid floor under his feet as he could and began to swung his legs towards the area raised up out of the water. As he was about to let go and lunge towards the edge he felt a wide slap against his side. Hard and heavy he flew forward and let go of the pipe earlier than he had wanted and his chest made a hard impact against the edge and felt the wind get knocked from him, his hands scrambling for something to grip. "Samuel!" He heard a familiar voice cry out his name before he fell back into the water.

Sam's vision spun as he felt water rush up into his face, reminding him of the zoo and falling into the water there, it was bone chilling freezing water, the fear of what waited in the water was what snapped his senses back into action and he opened his eyes, they burned from the water but he could make out a few of the frog shapes in the surprisingly clear water swimming towards him at an unnerving speed. He swam back up to the surface and emerged with a splash, he inhaled a large gulp of air before he swam back down and struggled to take his jacket off before he began to swim farther down and away from the frogs. He moved his arms and kicked furiously, his movements clumsy and frantic until he found a rhythm that seemed to give him the most momentum. Swimming away he went around something he assumed was a large test tube and he moved towards the surface again and he took this time to look around. "Sam!" He heard the voice again. "Val?" He called but then he spotted a set of stairs leading towards the spot from earlier. "Get out of the water, I have a plan!" He heard her call and for brief moment he looked around but he still couldn't see her but followed her order and swam towards the stairs. He got closer to the steps and eventually felt steps under his feet, for a brief moment he imagined walking out of the swamp in the gator pool back at the zoo and he gave another shiver. Climbing the steps he felt the weight of his soaked clothes slowing him as he pulled himself up, he heard splashing behind him and he turned with his arm starting to raise as he was reading himself to throw another punch.

As Sam turned around he felt something slap his arms to his side, startled by the sudden motion he saw the blue frog in front of him grip him tightly, he tried to move is arms, but only seemed to wriggle in its wide grip. He was closer to it than he had ever wanted to be and was ready to headbutt it when it suddenly opened its mouth. Sam stared in horror as it seemed to almost unhinge its jaw as it lifted him up and in what felt like slow motion lowered him into its gaping mouth. Sam tried to let out a cry as his voice was cut off by the sudden cold slimy darkness and he felt his legs kick as the frog closed its mouth tightly around his torso before it angled its head better and in quick motion he felt the mouth grip around his thighs then his knees. "Its gonna eat me alive!?" He realized and tried to move and escape but he was unsure of how to even go about doing that as all he could see was darkness and then he realized he could breath as each breath grew harder and harder to draw. "No! I don't want to die like this!" He thought desperately and he continued his struggle but in only a moment he felt himself hunched in an awkward fetal position and he closed his eyes tight as he tried to move. He couldn't breath and he was barely able to move, he could feel his limbs grow weaker. Sam couldn't move, he was constricted as horrifying sense overcame him it was cold and he felt dizzy and couldn't get himself oriented he didn't even know how too try.

He didn't know if he was just blind or if he was closing his eyes, and after a few more struggling movements he felt himself barely able to move at all and he just held his arms close and he felt himself start to drift off. "Stay... Awake..." He tried to mumble to himself but a disgusting tasting liquid entered his mouth and he began to cough but nothing came out, his lungs burned and in another panicked fit of spiritic movements he felt himself slow and eventually no movements at all. He was tired and scared, he couldn't breath and after what he thought was several long minutes he thought back to his family. He remembered the first time he rode a bike, his parents cheering him on. He thought back to when he was school, as a little kid, wandering the halls looking for his class. The sense of fear and unfamiliarity as he slowly opened a large heavy door to a classroom and peered inside, the teacher giving him a warm smile that lasted only a moment before she asked him to take a seat with the other kids. Then he remembered the cutest girl in his class and how she cut her long hair short and he couldn't stop staring at her and he ignored the rest of his class.

The time he watched a boxing match on tv with his dad, startling him as the stern yet kind father he loved gave a loud cheer and he started to cheer along with him. His mom making pancakes on lazy Saturday mornings when they could all be together before his parents left for work. He remembered asking to join his school's boxing team, and how his less than average grades might hold him back. He remembered his first kiss, her name was Haley. He remembered his injury, the pain of being told he couldn't continue boxing. He remembered volunteering for an experimental procedure that was supposed to help. Then he remembered meeting the other people trapped. An older woman greeted him, another young man about Sam's age yelled at them, another woman cried that she just wanted to go home. Then how they died, torn to pieces by the monsters that followed his every movement. Then he remembered laying on the ground looking up at someone. "Come on darlin' you ain't dead yet!" He reached up and grabbed her hand and she lifted him up. "Name's Becca."

Sam rushed through the halls looking for the source of the screaming. "Someone help!" He saw her a girl in a yellow hoodie with a zombie gripping her tightly as it tried to pull itself towards her. Sam rushed forward and raised his baseball bat and smashed it into the skull of the zombie and it stood there a moment before it fell to the ground with a heavy thud. "Hey! You okay?" Sam asked as the girl went down to the floor feeling for something before she found a pair of glasses and put them onto her face and adjusted them. "Oh thank you! That was incredible!" She said and Sam gave a small smile as he looked at the zombie on the floor. "Yeah no problem, come on let's get out of here." He said as he grabbed her hand and led her back to the others.

"Hey you're... Samuel, right?" A voice took his attention from the gruel Sam was trying to eat, he looked up and saw a man with dark skin and short hair, he had a blue and green button up shirt and black jogging shorts. "Uh yeah? What do ya need?" Sam asked as he took another bite of the tasteless mess in front of him. "Nothin much, just wanted to get to know everyone here. Since we're kinda stuck here, ya know?" He then held his hand out to Sam. "Name's Tyrone." Sam looked at the hand then shook it. "Good to meet you, pull up a stool and grab some gruel." He said and Tyrone did just that smiling as he planted himself across the table from Sam.

Sam rubbed the back of his neck and walked towards the elevator noticing a woman with blonde hair and punk clothes standing there. "Hey you gonna be in this stupid test with me today?" Sam asked and she glanced at him, her head cocked to the side slightly. "Yup name's January, keep me alive, and I'll return the favor alright?" She said flatly and Sam raised his eyebrows slightly. "Sounds like a plan, I'm Sam." She gave a slight head nod. "Got ya." And then they stood there in silence until the elevator showed up and several more people walked onto the bright solid white room of the elevator.

Sam slowly took a shaking breath as he stared at the monster with exposed muscles and giant claws slowly walking towards him, its long tongue scanning across the ground as its head slowly looked around, despite it not having any eyes, Sam felt his breathing grow louder and was waiting for it to lunge and tear him in half. Suddenly a figure appeared behind it, a scrawny kid with a blue button up and a leather backpack he was looking at Sam then the monster, he reached into his bag and pulled something out before he pressed a button and it started flashing. He then set it down on the ground and backed away from it before he looked back up. "H-hey! O-over here!" He said and the monster quickly retracted its tongue before it quickly spun around and at an alarming speed crawled on all fours towards the young man who ran stepped back further. Once it got closer a flash of sparks shot out and it began twitching and its muscles spasmed horribly. The young man looked at Sam. "Come on!" He yelled as he waved and Sam sprinted past the monster towards him. "Thanks for that!" Sam said as he caught his breath slightly before they both ran back towards the group. "Don't mention it! Or do, let everyone know how great I am!" The kid said with a cracky voice and a goofy grin and Sam smiled too. "Haha will do, name's Sam!" He said and the kid looked back over his shoulder. "Name's Martin! Uh-oh." He said as they both heard the scraping of claws against the floor coming after them. "Run faster, its coming!" He said and Sam happily obliged. 

After a brief moment Sam's mind began to focus on Martin. "I wish we could have met in a more normal world." He thought before he saw it. His car would be making a noise and he'd take it to the shop nearby and he'd meet Martin, they'd talk, get some lunch together sometime. They'd get to know each other, Sam would ask him to hang out again. they'd spend too much time thinking they were just friends and then they'd drink together one night and one of them would lean in for a kiss. Then they'd start dating until Sam worked up the courage to bring him to meet his parents, then he'd have to explain to his parents that he liked Martin, that he could fall in love Martin.

Sam's eyes opened wide as he sat up and felt himself vomit onto the floor beside him. A distant voice and a hand was patting his back. "Sam!? Sam, are you okay!?" Valerie's voice slowly grew louder as he realized she was right next to him. He tried to look at her but he felt himself vomit again and his vision was blurred and he blinked several times before he was finally able to make out his surroundings. He was in the lab. "V-Val..?" He said as he looked over his shoulder and saw the tears streaming down her face. "I thought you were dead!" She wailed as she grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "Wh-what happened?" Sam stuttered as he felt his head throb with pain. He then looked down at himself he was covered in blood and something that smelled horrible and now he supposed he had some vomit on him. Valerie was still sobbing before she pulled away and wiped her face and gave a hard sniff, snot smeared across her face. "It ate you, and- and then I pulled you out of it and you weren't breathing a-and I thought you were gone!" She cried before she pulled him into another hug. Sam was confused and he looked around and saw the frog monster that had swallowed him whole. Only now its stomach was sliced open and Sam saw the large army knife next to its corpse. "Val..? Did you pull me out of..?" He said before he realized he was covered in its stomach slime. Valerie pulled away again and gave another wail. "I-I Didn't want to let you die!" She said through her sobs and Sam blinked before he pulled her close. "You saved my life, so stop crying." He said with his own voice on the verge of breaking. Valerie stood up and grabbed him by the arm and tried to lift him up, Sam didn't realize his legs were practically numb as he clumsily stood up. "Where are the frog things?" Sam asked quietly and Valerie pointed towards the water. "I took c-care of them." She stuttered as Sam looked at the water and saw several frogs drifting in the water, unmoving. "What happened?" He asked wondering how the petite small Valerie managed to kill all of the scary monsters that he had been fighting for his life. Valerie pointed towards something else it was several large cables with sparking wires dipped into the water. "With a powerful charge of electricity distri-... I zapped them." She finished wiping her face again before she led him towards the ladder he had seen earlier.

Sam was practically fading in and out of consciousness as little black dots invaded his vision. Valerie led him somewhere, but he was walking on auto pilot and didn't really understand where they were going, as she set him down next to a wall and he saw the ladder from earlier she turned him to face her. "Can you climb or should we take a break?" She asked and Sam shook his head, in some attempt to wake himself up. "How did we get get over here?" He asked as he remembered the pipes he had to cling to over the water. "Sam we walked like ten feet." Valerie said as she gestured towards the frog corpse nearby. "It swam over here and hopped up, and then I shot it and then-." She looked back towards the knife. Sam let out an exhausted chuckle. "I just hitched a ride in the frog gut." He mumbled to himself. He then grabbed the ladder and slowly made his way up, his limbs were numb and yet they were in searing pain, but he pulled himself up towards the light above. "Keep going Sam! You're doing great!" Valerie called from below. He wanted to say something, but he just grumbled instead.

After several long minutes of climbing Sam finally made it to the top where he hesitated, trying to climb out of the manhole without falling backwards and taking Valerie down with him. The breeze chilled him to the bone as he slowly crawled out with little to no grace, clumsily pulling himself on the concrete ground of a parking lot. He looked around and saw a pile of bloodied corpses. "Nope not in heaven." He said as he realized how vulnerable he was and looked around and stood up. He turned back towards the manhole and saw Valerie climbing up now and Sam reached over and pulled her up and she looked him over. "Oh God, I know you've been through a lot but you look like you could really use a shower." She said then sniffed and covered her nose. "Smell like you could use one too." Sam looked down at himself, his shirt and pants were covered in what he assumed was blood and stomach fluids and maybe a little bit of his own vomit. "I want a nap." He said in a small voice, and Valerie hugged him. "You can nap in a shower." She then quickly pulled away in disgust as a trail of slime trailed off of her from Sam. "That sounds nice." Sam said pulling her back into the hug and Valerie let out a small cry of protest.

"Sam!" The familiar voice made Sam perk up slightly as he turned towards a large building that could be the back of the university and saw Tyrone walking out of the double doors and Sam slowly walked towards his friend arms outstretched. Tyrone quickly walked forward and pulled Sam into a tight hug. "Careful he's covered in stuff!" Valerie said quietly and Tyrone pulled away with a grimaced face as he looked down at his now slimed clothes. "Holy shit man, You smell like..?" Sam smiled wryly. "Frog guts and vomit." Sam said Tyrone then held Sam out at arms length and looked like he was about to say something before he stopped and shrugged off whatever it was. Sam pulled Tyrone into another hug which he recoiled in disgust but then quickly returned the embrace. "Getting eaten alive by a frog really puts things into perspective, and I gotta say... I fucking love you guys!" Sam said loudly and he felt himself close to tears but he held them back with a grin. "Where are the others?" Sam asked and Tyrone pointed towards the building towards the upper floors. "On the third floor in a lab, Becca with guy called George. January is looking for Martin." Sam perked up at the mention of his favorite mechanic. "Martin?" He asked and Tyrone pointed toward another building across the parking lot. "Yeah through there." He said and Sam turned to the door and started walking towards it before he even realized what he was going. "Sam wait!" Valerie said grabbing him by the hand. "Are you sure you're okay to go?" She asked and Sam pulled his hand away. "I'm good to go, come on we gotta get Martin!" He said and Valerie grabbed him by the shoulder this time more firm. "I know but you really need to rest, you weren't breathing Sam! I'm not letting you get yourself killed! Come on, I'm taking you to see George." She pulled him towards the building. "Who?" Sam asked and Tyrone walked past him and gripped his shoulder a bit as he walked past and started to walk towards the smaller building. "Come on man, you know if one of us got hurt we'd back off and the others would take care of things. Let us take care of Martin." He said and Sam felt a wave of relief and exhaustion, one he couldn't deny and he slowly nodded. "Okay... Just stay safe and... Bring Martin back okay? Oh and Jan too." He said with a weak smile as Valerie led him back to the building. "I got ya man." Tyrone said with a smile. "Just get up there and rest up, I bet we're gonna need ya at one hundred percent real soon." Sam gave a weak smile and he followed Valerie into the main building. Looking over his shoulder he watched as Tyrone walked over to the door. He opened it and vanished from his sight.

Valerie led the way and Sam felt his legs slowly shuffle behind, clumsily tripping over his own feet ever once in awhile. "Come on, Sam. We're almost there." She said and Sam let out a sigh. "Okay... Where are we going?" He asked tiredly. "Somewhere you can take a nap." She said and Sam began to eagerly follow her. "Oh thank God." He said and she led him into the main hall with a broken window, stain glass shattered all along the floor. "Sam?" Valerie's voice quietly spoke up and Sam looked around before he just walked alongside her. Chuckling to himself as he imagined they probably looked like a normal college couple. "But I like Martin so." He thought as he then imagined Martin standing next to him. "Sam?" He snapped back to her. "Huh?" He looked down at her and she rolled her eyes. "I said, what happened to you guys while we were... What is that?" She pointed to something on the ground. It was a tall figure with five sharp claws on each hand, he was face down in a puddle of blood. "I don't wanna know." Sam said as they walked around it.

Valerie led Sam to a room that had an elevator and Sam walked towards it the doors slid open and Sam flinched for a moment as he looked at the elevator Valerie tried to walk onto it but was caught off guard by Sam standing firm unmoved as she pulled on his arm a little. "What's wrong?" Valerie asked and Sam shivered. "It reminds me of the lab. And the tests." He said before he even realized he was talking and Valerie squeezed his hand. "Just close your eyes and I'll lead you off of it okay?" She said and Sam closed his eyes, sighing as he just followed her with his breath shaking. "O-Okay." He mumbled and she led him onto what he assumed was the elevator, and he heard her press a button. "I'm gonna need therapy if we get out of this aren't I?" He asked with a forced smile as his voice quivered slightly. Valerie gave his hand another squeeze. "WHEN we get out of this... And yes we all are." Valerie said and Sam gave a nervous chuckle.

After a moment he heard the door open and even though the ding from the elevator sent a chill down his spine, Sam followed as Valerie led him somewhere keeping his eyes closed, and he heard a doorknob turn and then he followed and then he heard another doorknob turn and he wondered if he should open his eyes. "Sam!" He heard the familiar voice of Becca and his eyes shot open and he saw the beat up face of Becca, who was moving across the room and pulled Sam into a hug. "Sam! Oh Sam! You smell like shit, but I'm so glad you're okay, is this blood?" She asked as she pulled away a little. "Don't worry it's not mine." Sam said before he looked at her face, dried blood under her nose and what looked like a black eye forming another bruise on her her forehead. "Damn Becca, what kicked your ass?" He asked and she smiled. "Nothin I didn't drop dead." She said though she seemed to wince at her own smile. "Valerie!" A man's voice called out and Sam looked past Becca and saw a man in a grey suit walking towards them, Sam was on edge at first but then Valerie walked forward as she fished through her bag. "Did you find the P-Base?" He asked and Valerie pulled out a large cylinder container. "Yeah I managed to find it while I was looking for Sam, It was not easy to get so please. PLEASE. Don't make me go back for more." She said handing him the container full of a blue liquid to George. "Excellent, we only need the V-Poison now." Sam snickered. "The what?" He asked and George looked at him. "I'm sorry, you are?" He said sounding very professional and Sam sat down in one of the folding chairs in the corner of the room. "I'm Sam, You must be the George doctor guy right? Can you take a look at me? I think I died awhile ago." He said as he just closed his eyes and Becca and George hurried over to him, but he simply let himself drift off. "Sam, come on. Stay with us buddy!" Becca said and Sam smiled. "I'm fine, just need a nap, a long. Very long nap." He mumbled as he felt himself struggle to stay awake. "Sam? Sam!?" Was all he heard before darkness.

He knew it was a dream, but he saw something he wanted to see so he kept dreaming. He saw his family all chatting and laughing, it was a barbeque in his parents' backyard, his dad was at the grill, his mom was walking out with drinks serving it to everyone. He stood there looking at the scene in front of him smiling, then he noticed among the crowd was a familiar long braid and a pair of glasses on the girl who smiled as she talked to Sam's mom, then he noticed Tyrone and January and Becca walking over to them. And Martin sitting by the table eagerly smiling at the food being brought over from the grill. Sam smiled and quickly walked over to the seat next to Martin and flopped into the seat before he grabbed Martin's hand and then reached over and snagged a burger. He looked over at Martin who had his goofy grin and gave Sam a small kiss on the cheek before he reached for a burger himself.

Sam's eye's slowly opened and he let out a loud yawn, and then the first thing he noticed was that he was on the floor looking up at the ceiling, something was pressed against him, and he looked down and saw Martin tucked tightly in Sam's side under his arm. A white fabric on them he noticed it was a lab coat being used like a blanket. "Are you awake?" He heard the man from earlier speak though Sam couldn't see him from his current position. "Hey uh yeah, I dunno why but I just couldn't stay awake sorry, uh I'm Sam, nice to meet you." Sam said and the doctor walked into view sat down in a chair that was facing them. "I wouldn't worry about it, if anything you're lucky to be alive." He said and Sam chuckled. "You wouldn't believe how much I've heard that these last few months, but I gotta say." He looked down at Martin who had his face buried into Sam. "Being alive hasn't felt so nice." George went over and crouched down to Sam's head catching him off guard for a moment. "Well, I'll be honest I'm surprised you're even alive, after being swallowed by a monster. Valerie told how she shot it in the head in an attempt to avoid hitting you, then she sliced it open and pulled you out of its stomach, and finally she had to resuscitate you with CPR. The entire idea is hard to believe unless I see it for myself, but seeing as your covered in what she called, 'stomach goo' I don't see much of a point in doubting her." George said as he went over and placed two fingers on Sam's neck causing him to flinch before he relaxed a little. "Pulse is returning to normal, good." He then checked Martin's forehead and his neck, he gave a slight frown. "No significant change since last check in." Sam grew uneasy at that. "What do you mean? What happened to him?" His tired voice almost raised in volume as he asked the burning question and George gave a huff as he stood and turned away towards a table. "He was stung by a giant wasp creature. His arm was incredibly swollen and he had a fever but he seems to have survived the worse part of it, but he is still unfit to move around much, I was able to neutralize the poison with the V-Poison your friend January brought. With the medical supplies I had on hand I did what I could, only time will tell exactly how much more is needed." George finished with a calm look on his face as he stared intently at Martin before he let out a slow sigh. "He was quite thrilled to see you. Are you two..?" George now looked at Sam who could feel his ears burn at his question. "Uh, yeah he's my boyfriend... Still getting used to saying that." He said and felt a new look from George and was expecting one of judgement but when he met the doctor's eyes he saw the calm exterior hide a brief smile that crossed his face, if Sam hadn't looked up he would've missed it. "That's nice, with all the terrifying things going on lately it must be nice to have each other." He said as if almost sounding jealous but Sam was going to say that.

A sudden thought entered Sam's mind at the doctor's words. "Where are the others?" He asked straining his neck to look around. George leaned forward in his chair a little more. "They didn't want to wake you two up so they went to look for weapons and supplies while we waited." George said as he turned his head towards something in the corner of the room that was making a strange whirling noise. "Waiting on what, us?" Sam asked as he gave up trying to see what it was and laid his head back down so as not disturb Martin. George shook his head lightly. "No I had the others look for specific ingredients throughout the University and the... Lab underneath it." George pinched the bridge of his nose. "How long has Umbrella been using this school for its heinous experiments?" He seemed more sad than actually questioning it before he shook himself back to his calm façade. "Anyway the others managed to retrieve several useful components to create a reagent-" Sam raised an eyebrow. "A what?" George collected his thoughts after clearing his throat for a moment. "A compound made from various chemicals. They brought the ingredients to make what could possibly be a cure to this... Well this!" He pointed out the window towards the other ruined building of the city. Sam's heart picked up at that. "You mean... No more zombies?" He asked and George gave a brief smile. "Exactly, the Reagent should eliminate all traces of what Peter referred to was the T-Virus, the same virus that has infected the populous of the city." Just hearing the name sent chills down Sam's spine. "So what's it need? To be finished I mean, what are are we waiting on?" Sam asked sitting up a little and Martin made a small noise before he shifted a little. George looked back over to the source of the noise. "Just time, We need to wait for the chemicals to mix properly for awhile." He said and then there was more noise from Martin as the young man moved from Sam and sat up before he stretched a little. "So when it's done do we just put it in a needle and boom, zombie antidote?" Martin's voice asked and Sam leaned up and looked at the curly mop of black hair as Martin slowly turned toward him. Sam stared at Martin who was now making eye contact before they both smiled slightly. "I'm glad you're alright." Martin said and Sam could now see Martin's arm more, it was a reddish color and swollen to a slightly noticeable size that made Sam uncomfortable to look at. "Damn Martin, it got ya good huh?" Sam asked as he reached for the arm. Martin slowly raised it to show. "Yeah but George gave me some pills and a dose of somethin, they helped I think, made me super tired. Oh but they did kill the hangover I had so that's cool." He said with a grin that turned into a slight grimace once Sam gingerly made contact with the arm.

A loud beep startled all three of them as the machine in the corner seemed to alert them to something and George went over to the machine, Martin and Sam slowly stood up from the floor, Sam's legs felt like jelly and he had an incredible headache, his mouth was dry and he had stomach pains, with a quiet groan he looked towards the doctor. "What's going on?" He asked and George seemed to grow more flustered by the moment examining the machine from all angles. "It stopped!" He said with a slight sense of urgency that put Sam on edge. "So? Does that mean it's done?" Martin asked as he let out a hitched breath. Sam started to have a bad feeling. "Hey guess who's alive!" He heard the familiar voice behind him and turned and saw January walking in through the door with the rest of his friends close behind. Valerie rushed forward Becca close behind. "Martin you look way better!" She said adjusting her glasses as she examined his arm, Becca pulled him into an awkward hug while trying to avoid his arm. "Thanks, still hurts but I don't feel as sick now. Well as sick." He said with a tired smile. Tyrone walked forward a rifle in each hand as he set them down on the table. "Well just to be safe, stay behind us." He said as held one of the guns and looked it over. "Sam, how are you feeling?" Valerie asked as she moved closer to him. Sam almost didn't hear her as he was a little distracted by the acidic texture left in his mouth, he knew it was from when he vomited but that was all the more reason he desperately wished he could brush his teeth. "I'd be a lot worse if you hadn't pulled my ass out of that frog." He said and Valerie smiled and gave him another hug, before Becca joined, the two girls practically squeezing him to death. "I hate to interrupt." George' voice called catching everyone's attention. "But we have a problem. A big problem." He said as he turned back towards the machine. Everyone exchanged glances as they slowly made their way over to the machine he had his attention fixed on.

Seeing it up close it looked like a piece of science fiction it had several slots for vials and test tubes that seemed to all connect on an axis that Sam knew was supposed to be spinning to mix the chemicals. "What's up doc?" January asked as she brought an arm up and leaned on George's shoulder. "It stopped... It wasn't supposed to stop, why did it stop." His voice was stern and he was clearly on edge and everyone focused on the machine. "Did it get unplugged or somethin?" Becca asked as she looked behind it. "Maybe it finished early? But then the serum wouldn't be complete, hmm..." Valerie said as she brought a hand to her chin in thought. Sam didn't have any idea what to do. He looked around the room an uneasy feeling overtaking him. A click could be heard from the door that the others had entered from making Martin flinch. "D-did that door just lock?" He asked nervously, January went to the door and tried to open it but it wouldn't budge, Becca went over to the guns and grabbed one, pulling the part she called the charging handle back and then handed it to January who walked back to the group, before she repeated the process with the other gun. Tyrone and Valerie both had handguns and the later went to Sam and handed him one before she pulled out a much larger one out of her backpack. Sam looked at her then the gun. "But... I want the big one." He whined and she rolled her eyes trying to hide a smile as Sam showed a toothy grin before he took the spare magazine she handed him. "Um, what about little ol' me?" Martin asked as he looked around. Everyone briefly shifted in place for a second. "We... did grab a gun for Martin right?" Tyrone asked and Martin seemed hurt at the silence of everyone. "Sorry Martin." Becca sheepishly muttered as the mechanic held his good arm over his eyes and went to Sam. "Blasphemy! Martin, is defenseless against the cruel grasping claws of the undead! At least tell them they can put 'his back was good at holding knives!' on my tombstone!" He said dramatically and then he hid behind Sam. " Or you guys can just kill anything that gets close to me, deal?" He said and Sam smiled as Martin seemed to shrink behind him.

They all stood there for a moment, Sam looked around the room for some kind of sign that they could escape through somewhere, spotting the door near the machine. "What about that door?" He asked and Valerie shook her head. "It's been locked since we got here." She said and then there was another click at the door in question and everyone paused. After a moment Tyrone went over to the door and slowly turned the knob. "It ain't locked anymore." He said as he slowly opened the door to reveal a dark room with an unsettling smell coming from it. "Ammonia?" George said as he got closer to the door. Sam just noticed the gun tucked in the waistband of his pants. "Someone wants us to go that way." Martin said nervously and Sam shivered. "It's cold." He whispered as he stepped closer. "Do we have any other way to go?" Becca asked and January looked out the window. "If you wanna try and jump from the third floor then yeah." Sam swallowed hard before he took another step forward. "It's probably the guy who put me down in that lab." He said and everyone slowly followed. Each step was filled with caution as Sam felt his heartbeat pick up, entering the new room he felt the temperature change to a much more chill feeling as a smell filled the air. "Ugh, makes my stomach churn." Valerie said as she slowly walked forward gun raised, ready to fire at the first sign of danger. Sam assumed the others were also ready for action, or at least he hoped as he was in the front and was scanning the room.

He stopped and he heard the other footsteps behind him stop too. The room had metal drains all along the floor, with tables lined up along the walls. Some had plastic tarps set up like curtains, a few had corpses on them, sliced open. "I don't like this." He heard Tyrone say from behind. Suddenly Valerie let out a shriek as they all turned towards her guns ready as she held her hand over her mouth. "Sorry! I thought it was moving." She said quietly as she pointed towards something. Sam followed her finger and gave a a hard shudder as he saw a green reptile like creature the same one that attacked them in the labs where Monica betrayed them and where they fought the disgusting monster that threw its babies at him. He raised his gun at it, but then he noticed its feet weren't touching the ground, and it was swaying slightly. He lowered his gun and slowly walked around it and saw a large meat hook stabbed into its neck keeping it suspended over a drain. "Gross, what is it?" January asked and Sam looked back at her. "Oh yeah you guys weren't with us. We ran into these things when we were separated." He said and he suddenly was hit with a minor realization that the others had no idea what they'd been through since the subway train took them away. "We'll have to tell y'all about it later." Becca said as she looked around, pulling another curtain back and finding another green scaly corpse sliced open.

Aside from a few more corpses there wasn't much in the room, but Sam did notice a large tarp covering a doorway. "Do you guys hear that?" Valerie asked and Sam stood still listening, it was a very faint noise of a computer humming from beyond the tarp that covered the only other door in the room aside from where they entered. Sam slowly reached for it and pulled it to the side. "There's a projector turned on." He said as he recognized the device shining something onto an unseen wall. With everyone close behind they moved forward. Coming into the room that was completely devoid of any furniture save for a desk with a computer and the projector he noticed, sitting on it then something that Sam grew angry at the sight of. The same blonde man who kidnapped Sam and Martin standing next to it. "You!" He growled as he aimed his gun at the man, who didn't seem fazed in the slightest at the gun pointed at him. "Whoa, Sammy!" Becca said as she stepped forward, her eyes darting quickly from Sam to the blond man with a pair of wide frame glasses on his face, his arms behind his back in a professional manner. "Do you know this guy?" She asked as she slowly set a hand on Sam's arm that held the gun pointed at the man. "That's the asshole who took me and Martin, and put me in that lab with those monsters that ate me!" He said angrily and Becca turned towards the man for a moment before she aimed her gun at him too. "You're the sick son of a bitch that sent that tall motherfucker after me and got Kelly killed!" She yelled accusingly and then before long everyone pointed their guns at him. Yet his demeanor remained unchanged, before he looked past Sam at something else. "You seem to be hesitant to join this makeshift firing squad." He said and Sam raised an eyebrow as he slowly looked behind him and saw Valerie with her gun shaking in her hands as she stared wide eyed at the man. "Greg? Y-you work for umbrella d-don't you?" She stuttered as she stood there shaking. Now the man smiled. "It's good to see you again Valerie." His smile vanished. "Is that what you want me to say? That I'm sorry?" His voice raised in volume and Sam watched as Valerie took a step back. "You're the one who..." She said before she raised the gun with shaking hands. "I should kill you!" She practically screamed and Sam could see Valerie had tears rolling down her cheek. The man smiled again. "You should? I think I'll be able to dissuade you with a quick power point if you don't mind?" He gestured towards the projection on the wall, Sam slowly turned his head to the left where the projector had displayed an image of a tall man with claws, the same one Sam saw in the main hall. "What is that?" George asked and the man Valerie called Greg, cleared his throat. "What you are looking at is my greatest creation. Behold the beauty and the sheer power of my masterpiece! Thanatos!" He said as he pressed a button on the computer and the images began to change, first it showed a man on a surgery table, then the monster known as Thanatos in a giant test tube, then it showed it killing a group of armed soldiers in the same parking lot where Sam crawled out of the sewer lab. Then it showed an image of it chasing Becca and Kelly through the halls of the university. Becca turned back towards Greg. "I hate to break it to ya but your masterpiece? I killed it dead." She said her voice sounding irritated as Greg scoffed. "I'll admit you surprised me, but if you think that a mere woman with a gun could kill him, then he wouldn't be worthy of Godhood." He said and Sam started turned towards him, he seemed completely engrossed with the image on the wall. "I had planned on testing his hunting capabilities by seeking you out, and then the other two, assuming they survived of course." He glared at Sam and Martin. "A minor setback, that's all. He learns and is already searching for you again." He said and everyone exchanged looks. "B-but Becca killed it!" Tyrone said as he looked back toward the direction everyone had come from. Greg let out a sigh. "Please do not make me repeat myself." He said as he pressed another button on the computer and it then displayed a footage of the main hall, 'Thanatos' Was laying on the ground before he slowly lifted a giant clawed hand up and placed the palm against the ground before hoisting his massive figure up and then turned his head and began walking somewhere out of view.

Sam looked at the screen uneasy before he turned his attention too Greg again. "So what I'm hearing is that we need to bust a cap in you and get the hell out of here!" January said as she raised her gun, still Greg seemed unfazed. "You could, but then nothing would stop him from hunting all of you down. At present he is only after." Greg slowly raised his hand and pointed at Becca, then to Sam, then to Martin. "Those three, So I offer you a solution, leave." He said it as if it was an explanation as well as a solution. "What do you mean, leave?" Tyrone asked his voice growing angry as Sam was about to guess what Greg meant. "Abandon the current targets, Thanatos is currently under orders to eliminate those three, along with the girl who died by in the peer, and anyone who gets in the way of its objective." Sam felt his entire body lock up in fear. He had a monstrous killing machine hunting him down. He looked at the others, Martin was practically white as a sheet, Becca looked so angry Sam was wondering if she was about to pop a blood vessel. "And what if we just kill you?" Becca said as she pointed the gun at Greg's head, who smiled. "A contingency plan. Should for whatever reason my life come to a premature end, he will kill every life form in sight." He said and Sam felt his teeth start to chatter, trying desperately to hide his fear. Someone grabbed his hand he looked down and saw Martin, one hand gripping Sam's hand tightly as the other held onto red spot where he got stung. "It's simple math, three lives." He adjusted his glasses. "Or all of your lives?" He said and Sam looked at the others a brief moment of panic as they seemed to stare at Greg. "Are they really considering this!?" He thought in a panic before Valerie took a deep breath. "You know... I think you're lying." She said and everyone glanced at her before their gaze fell back on Greg who seemed to take an interest in her words. "Wouldn't letting us go be the prefect way to test more of its 'hunting capabilities'? " She said as she stepped forward. "You haven't changed a bit, you think everyone will listen to you just because your smart but I've wanted to say this for a long time. You just a know it all asshole who isn't anything special." She said and she took another step forward as Greg tilted his head to look down at her a little. "Ha, I just met ya and I agree with her, we aren't leaving these guys we just finally got them back!" January spoke up, Sam watched as she tapped the trigger guard of her gun. "I think we're about done with this talk." She said and Sam felt another rush of relief as he felt Tyrone set a hand on his shoulder. "Your perfect little monster already went down once, all we need is a little more fire power, I'm not worried." He said and Greg seemed to actually show irritation at that comment. "Someone as simply as you couldn't hope to understand the beauty of-" Greg suddenly stopped talking as his head flinched and in an instant blood began to leak from his chin torrent of red, some trickled from the top of his head and his eyes rolled back as he dropped to his knees then he fell over completely limp. "Holy fucking shit!?" January said as Valerie let out a shriek stepping away from the bloody mess. "It wasn't me!" Martin called as he hid behind Sam who was stunned watching the body on the ground, blood pooling under his face down body. "What happened!?" Tyrone called as he stepped forward in front of Becca who raised her gun towards the ceiling looking for whatever had killed him. Valerie scanned the room before she looked up and her body began to tense up. "Oh no..." She said and Sam rushed over to her side. "What's up what's wrong?" He said before he looked up too. "Oh shit." He said as he saw it. A small block with a timer in red digits, counting down from ten minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy, I hope everyone is well. I finally returned to work on this, if there are any glaring errors or grammar issues please let me know and I'll correct them as soon as possible, otherwise please enjoy.

**Author's Note:**

> Unsure how long I'll actually make this but I hope long enough to where I can be pleased with it.


End file.
